Fox’s Jacqui Heinrich Grills WH Spox Over Spin on Leaked Attack Info: ‘Why Aren’t Launch Times on a Mission Strike Classified?’
Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich grilled Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt over the claim that the details revealed in the Signal group chat weren’t classified.
On Monday, The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published a report detailing how he was mistakenly added to a group chat with high-ranking members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet. In the chat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided details on strikes times and weaponry for the U.S.’s then-upcoming attack on the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
After the publishing of that report, White House officials argued that none of the information was classified and that Goldberg had sensationalized the story. In response, Goldberg published uncensored screenshots revealing the sensitive details that were shared on the messaging app.
The Trump administration claimed the publishing of the messages proved them right. Leavitt reiterated that point when she opened Wednesday’s briefing by attacking Goldberg and his wife.
Still, Heinrich wondered how the administration could make the argument that nothing shared was sensitive enough to be classified.
HEINRICH: So, why aren’t launch times on a mission strike classified?
LEAVITT: Again, I would defer you to the Secretary of Defense’s statement he put out this morning. There were various reasons he listed — things that were not included in that messaging thread, that were not classified.
And again, going back to the American public, do you trust the Secretary of Defense who was nominated for this role, voted by the United States Senate into this role, who has served in combat, honorably served our. in uniform; or do you trust Jeffrey Goldberg, who is a registered Democrat and an anti-Trump sensationalist reporter? This president and this national security team are putting our national security and the American people first. We are restoring American strength around the world, and the results of this operation speak for themselves.
Watch above via Fox News
