| wgle... | This incident was irresponsible and should results in firings or resignations, but not criminal prosecutions. |
| bimm... | If a lower level military or civilian employee did this they would lose their clearance and likely be fired. Leaders should LEAD!!! Admit your mistake and accept the consequences. Unfortunately most Americans don’t understand or care why this is an important incident…and won’t connect the dots if they or their kin have to go to war or are otherwise put in harm’s way in service to our country. |
| kold... | This is what happens when you make an incompetent news host a Defense Secretary. It's not that the journalist was included. It is that they were using a weak, civilian cell phone app for Top Secret exchange. Grossly incompetent. |
| tubi... | no, though it would be ironic, considering his commentary a couple of years back. |
| mary... | Something is wrong with this picture - it seems like a set up. |
| fous... | Sounds like a set up... |
| char... | Context, content and intent should certainly be considered. Failsafes should also be put in place to prevent such events, after determination as to how it occurred initially. |
| 9812... | Those people hold others accountable. Therefore they should have higher standards to meet. Obviously they did not. I am sure they have a reason. So does a five year old with a match. |
| bill... | Many if the people in the room were calling for Hilary Clinton's and Joe Biden's heads for much lesser offenses. They were warned NOT to use this app just a few days before they went ahead and did it anyway. This fiasco demonstrated incompetence and criminal behavior. Prosecute everyone involved save the journalist who was mistakenly looped in. Also, the records of this meeting were designed to be erased. How is this legal? |
| koad... | The hysterics are of course jumping on "a story," but not "the story." I am holding judgment until I know the inclusion was not intentional. I have not heard yet of a statement from the administration, but intentional leaks are a legitimate tactic in conflict planning, particularly if it is a distraction or a diversion. |
| trdy... | These people are the Trump appointed flunkies who received their positions based on being yes men and not based on merit. Something like this should never happen. It puts the armed forces in harm’s way. Under the current leadership, I would not want to be in a military conflict where I could not trust the government to have my back. Totally incompetent administration! |
| trag... | The administration, particularly Defense Secretary, President, VP, Foreign Affairs Secy, have a tremendous responsibility to protect our country and our military overseas. The use of an online platform should be carefully selected and guarded. Issues of this significance should ideally b conducted in person. These matters must be taken seriously. Loose lips don’t just sink ships, they wreak havoc on the land and sea |
| tuli... | They should be fired, not prosecuted since the intent was not to commit espionage |
| kbki... | Shows the total incompetence of our politicians. |
| mich... | It depends if accidentally sharing the information caused harm or not. Harm could be financial loss, physical harm to a person or people, harm to the U.S.A.’s ability to perform military or intelligence operations in the future, etc. |
| desa... | Intent doesn’t matter in this serious breach. Prosecute to put an immediate stop to dangerous practices before even worse happens. This level of incompetence does not bode well for our country moving forward. |
| dian... | Officials should know better. Making a mistake like this would get you fired from any other place of employment. Since this deals with the entire country's safety, yes, they should be prosecuted for breaking the law. |
| rmac... | I wonder if this was a democrat administration how different the voting would be? |
| ajcs... | Top officials are responsible for controlling top secret information. They should be held responsible for where the chat was held and who was included. The American people should be informed of what happened and the consequences of their actions. It is appalling that the Secretary of Defense and the Vice President didn't know what they were doing and what was put at risk! |
| zeph... | What boneheads |
| fmge... | The Republicans raised hell over Hillary's emails. That paled beside this. If Hegseth and Waltz aren't fired, the Republicans are hypocrites. |
| coza... | “Only the best people” DJT |
| jrv1... | Let’s investigate first prior to jumping to conclusion from journalist report |
| mart... | It is what it is: classified. Intent does not make the “sharing” any less dangerous. |
| jcro... | I don’t think we have all the data on the classified information that THEY say was shared. If it was classified how can it be release now and if it wasn’t how can the administration prove it was not. A field day for the press. |
| hall... | Incompetent people need to be held accountable! |
| jnri... | Mrs. Clinton should've been santioned or fined for her breach... and these men should be also held accountable for putting a reporter in a classified, war-planning setting. These jobs bear great responsibility and failing should have serious consequences. |
| cher... | I say yes due to the fact that any and all would be calling the event an accident. |
| dklo... | They were using a non government app that any of us can download from the App Store. They were reckless and clueless and can’t be trusted with anything close to military secrets. Ignorance is not an excuse. Have anybody these people passed background security checks? |
| seac... | Prosecute the journalist who disclosed this information |
| kevi... | Other: Officials who "accidentally leak" classified information forfeits their and the government's legal ability to create repercussions to the party it was "accidentally leaked" to. Let's be honest, Hegseth is wildly unqualified for his position, and is in that position solely for loyalty to Trump and the Heritage Foundation towards project 2025. And, chances are, he was on a bender during said "accident". |
| zack... | This story is being blown up way out of proportion. After being alseep for 4 years, but now every single thing is a massive story. Having had a secret clearance for 19 years I see some major cons/platform issues. But we are talking about the highest level cabinets members here, the same rules don’t and have never applied to them. This clearly shows the need for more stringent and secure communication. Was there any classified information discussed as far as dates and times? Were any persons or interests put in danger? No! But it could happen next time if not corrected. |
| bobg... | Hard to disprove there was not malicious intent. |
| carl... | My question is - is it AI? It is so hard to believe anything anymore. How do we know that the whole thing from both sides wasn’t AI driven. |
| cynl... | At the very least they should lose their jobs or be demoted. At this level of government there is little margin for error. |
| bc11... | Already, Donald Trump broke the law by holding classified documents at Mar-a-lago. Here's another careless treatment of classified data. Corporate employees would lose their jobs over such actions. Hmmm, maybe that's a good way to proceed with those who have just allowed this breach to happen. |
| patc... | And undoubtedly, Trump will pardon those involved |
| mbul... | “Mistakenly” is doing some heavy lifting here. How about the fact that they illegally used an unsecured communications channel di chat about highest level national security? |
| jamb... | If they are in positions like this they need to be extremely careful about what they disclose |
| cica... | This breach wasn’t accidental! It was the result of egregious disregard for standard protocol and procedure from an entire administration populated by incompetent and corrupt people |
| nata... | This shows how cavalier and incompetent they are. |
| patt... | YES ~ all of them need to be held accountable for discussing classified on unsecured channels. The reporter should be protected under the Whistleblower protection act. |
| bari... | It goes toward understanding their competence, and if the consequences for incompetence are human lives, whatever approach disincentivizes such carelessness is warranted. |
| rsmi... | Who knows what else has been leaked and to who. |
| kaih... | but her emails |
| jean... | If someone hacks into othe group chat, hard for people to protect the info if they don't know about the hacking. |
| geor... | They should be prosecuted just like many lower class government employees have been, but the reality is they will not be prosecuted as they have control over all aspects of the government. I will be surprised if any of the attendees on this security breach will even be forced to resign! And because not one of the attendees on this platform even questioned why this unsecured platform was being used is a pretty good bet that this was not the only such incident. |
| cb10... | It wasn't accidental, it was "highly unqualified" for the job! This should never have happened. Lives could have been lost because of this. |
| af.a... | This is no different than the Clinton use of private server. Military actions in another country are top secret for a reason. It wasn’t “sensitive” information. |
| over... | There’s a difference between espionage and incompetence. |
| caja... | This could have potentially put our military forces in grave danger. |
| jllm... | Has someone invented a machine that can determine intent, I could use it in daily life. |
| pken... | Severity of breach may go to punishment but cabinet members should be fired and prosecuted. |
| djos... | Difficult to give a yes or no answer. Many unknowns, someone added the leak? Others failed to verify recipients? Is someone ultimately responsible for verification of recipients? Ect, ect. |
| park... | Just goes to show that these old ass men don't know how technology works! Get these old ass white men out of government. |
| wayn... | It should be protected and those responsible should be held accountable. This just shows what a group of “boobs” are in this administration. |
| sama... | Any member of the armed forces would be court marshaled; a "leader" should be treated the same |
| ecoh... | but her emails!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| kare... | I do not think that the public, including leaders are sufficiently responsible about classified information. |
| gise... | Mistakes happen but safety is paramount |
| shep... | Not criminal prosecutions, but people should lose their jobs! |
| srcl... | It shows what a bunch of unqualified people we have running our government...wake up America!!! |
| bosc... | Under any previous administration, leaking any classified information would be subject to being fired! This administration is violating everything about our constitution and democracy. They are NOT above the law! |
| hone... | Of course I would agree with this because I hate the republicans (the current group who call themselves republicans). They are extremely stupid with no understanding as to the importance of history and why we function in certain ways. They don't care about "the ways". But I do believe that if a democrat had done this I would still believe in prosecuting that person. |
| meji... | Accidental! I don't think so!!! Mr. Goldberg was honest enough to inform us about the US military breach of classified movement. Elements from other countries will not!! It looks like one of the "high ranking officials" allowed this or promoted this breach to happen. This breach is exactly what Americans should expect from inept, inexperienced, posers running our country. |
| kh5d... | These individuals should be imprisoned the same way an officer serving in the military would if they had made an OPSEC mistake with 1/100th of the same gravity. Absolutely disgraceful. |
| tlos... | This should not be a debate - you break the law, violate your oath and you're out - very powerful people in very powerful positions have lost alot more for alot less - doesn't anyone care about our national secrets anymore? |
| bets... | Yes, the ignorance of group texting on an unsecured network, first of all, demonstrates that the team involved should all be fired! Our country’s security is at risk because of their incompetence. How can they be trusted? How else have they compromised our nation’s security that we are unaware of?! |
| schw... | Elect a clown Expect a circus Duhhhhh |
| cmes... | Look at all the people voting yes when they didn't care about any of this in the past |
| sue.... | Shows incompetence |
| dcol... | I think someone should potentially be fired, but a secretary of state having a server in her garage or wherever with government secrets on it seems like a worse offense. Especially when it magically disappeared. |
| adri... | I hope some of these people are coming to their senses. I am scared for my son and my nephews. For everyone! |
| rong... | How many other times has this occurred with the current people in charge without anyone discovering it? (Other than the foreign nations that might be privy to the information they've acquired) |
| teva... | Imagine the respose if that occurred onder the Biden administration |
| hele... | If this happened under a democratic administration the republicans would be screaming for heads to roll!!! Interesting that I haven’t seen much mention about this on Fox… |
| alan... | All the Trumpsters wanted to prosecute HRC on flimsier evidence; so, yes, let's consider locking this bunch up. |
| gswi... | This is just a clear example of how unprofessional and uneducated and unaware Trump’s staff is. |
| bfph... | I have no doubt that answers to this question are partisan based |
| aran... | Prosecution should depend on intent, content, and damage done. If "there was a glitch" suffices for lack of mindedness at the highest levels of national interest, we are in elementary school. The problem here is: who's going to share intelligence with the U.S. if people aren't even paying attention to who's on their chat? |
| jonc... | Negligence is not an acceptable excuse. Grow up. |
| e.cl... | This is clown show. Too bad the stakes are so high. |
| jimb... | No one above the law |
