There’s nothing Washington likes better than a good, old-fashioned, juicy scandal. Ask Richard Nixon about “Watergate.” Ask George H.W. Bush about “Irangate.” Ask Bill Clinton about “Whitewatergate.” And, today, ask Donald Trump about “Signalgate.”

Trump says it’s “not a big deal.” But it is. He complains that media coverage of Signalgate is “old and boring.” But it’s not. He wishes it would just go away. But it won’t. And the reason it won’t just go away is that it was so wrong, so dangerous and so stupid.

At issue is the group chat Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held on Signal, an encrypted but insecure app, to discuss plans for a U.S. military strike against Houthi rebels in Yemen. In that chat, two hours before launch, Hegseth revealed details of the attack to Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security advisor Mike Waltz, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Also on board was journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, mistakenly invited to join by Waltz. The result was what you might expect from a bunch of amateurs who have no experience in military leadership or national security.

Here’s why it was so wrong. First, because you don’t discuss state secrets........

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