
<p>One of the services of my Chicago consulting business was “crisis management.” Essentially, it means when something occurs that brings sudden scandal and public scorn on an individual or organization. It is often a sex scandal. Occasionally, some industrial accident. In could involve embezzlement, medical malpractice, criminal activities – and the list goes on. The common symptom is a sudden public uproar.</p>



<p>Over several decades, my firm had been called in to consult in such situations. I had a standard action plan. In fact, I wrote corporate white papers and lectured on the subject. I think that gives me sufficient creds to address what happened on the infamous Signal chat and how it was handled.</p>



<p>Top officials – including Vice President Vance and Defense Secretary Hegseth &#8212; were engaged in last minute discussions about imminent attacks on major Houthi sites in Yemen. The attacks commenced shortly after the chat. By all measures, the military operation was very successful in terms of the mission.</p>



<p>BUT &#8230; one of the people on the chat &#8212; although not a participant – was Atlantic Magazine Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg. ; Following the military attacks, Goldberg penned an article headlined &#8220;Top Trump Officials Included the Atlantic Editor in Group Chat About Plans to Bomb Yemen&#8221;.</p>



<p>His inclusion in the chat was obviously a HUGE mistake. No reporter should have been on the chat – and especially not Goldberg, who has been one of the most ardent anti-Trump journalists in America (and there are a lot of them). Over the years, he has been a consistent purveyor of false political narratives. You know the Russian conspiracy &#8230; the Hunter Biden laptop &#8230; and the fit-as-a-fiddle- Joe Biden.</p>



<p><strong>The Administration Response – and Unearned Error</strong></p>



<p>When managing a crisis, the initial response is the most critical. ; President Trump had the right response – mostly. ; ; He admitted to the error &#8230; said they would look into it. ; That should have been the statement until further information was available and more comments could be made. ; Trump’s only error was deflecting from the issue by gratuitously attacking Goldberg. ; ; Yes, Trump and Goldberg are not pals, but that was not the issue. ; Goldberg did nothing untoward to get the information. ; The deflection was not only not necessary, it was counterproductive.</p>



<p>In testifying before Congress, those who were on the chat claimed it was no big deal – and that nothing said was secret. ; Technically, that could be true. ; Secret and Top Secret are official designations. ; (You will recall in the “documents case” that secrets and top secrets were marked as such). ; There are innumerable conversations – even about sensitive matters – that take place in private but are not necessarily official secrets. ; It is also noteworthy that the plan for the attack had already been shared with Israel.</p>



<p>BUT &#8230; whether the chat was an official secret or not, it is obvious that the chat was dealing with minimally “sensitive” information that never should have gone to a reporter.</p>



<p>While Hegseth provided the most “sensitive” information, he had no way of knowing that Goldberg was in the chat. Hegseth was not responsible for Goldberg being on the chat. He was not added from his account. Hegseth’s and others&#8217; mistake was focusing on the reporter and the success of the mission while minimizing the scope of the blunder.</p>



<p>Goldberg was added under the account of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. It is yet unknown if he had personally added Goldberg or was it a staff blunder – or even a malicious act?</p>



<p><strong>Democrat Reaction.</strong></p>



<p>Whatever happened, the Trump administration mishandled the response – and that gave Democrats an opportunity to react. ; As can be expected, they overreacted. ; They took what was most certainly an embarrassing blunder and spun it into an intelligence catastrophe of the first magnitude.</p>



<p>MSNBC’s uber left-winger (as if he is an exception), Chirs Hayes, declared that it was the “worst, most embarrassing and most dangerous” security leak in American history. ; Not even close. ; That is just another political fantasy narrative to be sent around the left-wing media echo chamber.</p>



<p>The left-wing media mavens have been carrying the same story – with the same hyperbolic spin – for days. ; They ridiculously compare it to Watergate. ; They are calling for most of the intelligence team to resign.</p>



<p>Conversely, they never seemed bothered – or found a need for accountability &#8212; when 14 American service personnel were killed– and many more severely injured – during the grossly mishandled retreat in Afghanistan. ; Or, when a pro-American family was blown away in Afghanistan by a drone due to an intelligence blunder. ;</p>



<p>In 1971, when Daniel Elsberg leaked the “Pentagon Papers”- laying out detailed Vietnam war plans and assessments, he escaped accountability and was made a hero in left-wing circles.</p>



<p>Democrats were not up in arms when Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, leaked highly classified documents to Wikileaks in 2011, during the Obama administration. Manning&#8217;s disclosures included the Iraq War Logs, Afghan War Diary, and U.S. diplomatic cables, which revealed details about military operations and government activities.</p>



<p>Democrats were not so exercised when Edward Snowden released truly confidential information in 2013 – again, during the Obama administration. The documents included sources and methods and forced the shutting down of several intelligence operations. </p>



<p>All the failures above were either tragic intelligence failures &#8212; resulting in deaths of individuals &#8212; or malicious leaks that were intended to undermine American intelligence and do harm in America’s standing in the world. ; ; And they did.</p>



<p>It should be kept in mind that the Single chat lead was an unintended mistake. There were no untoward results. The mission went off as planned with great success. It was a teachable moment that will result in policy changes to avoid a future mishap.</p>



<p>Once again, Democrats are spinning the blunder into an international crisis. Their hyperbolic narratives are political hogwash being advanced by obsessive Trump haters for political purposes. They are doing more harm to American intelligence and security than the Goldberg fiasco itself. Nothing new in that.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Signal chat: Trump team fumbles … Democrats overreact
