GOP Rep. Breaks Ranks With Trump And Co. In ABC Interview
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said information in a recently compromised group chat about bombing Yemen should be considered classified ― which contradicts downplaying of the incident by President Donald Trump and others. (Watch the video below.)
The lawmaker’s comment to ABC’s Martha Raddatz on Sunday was far from a total rebuke of the administration’s use of the publicly available chat app Signal. But it did break with party speak after a reporter was accidentally invited into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s disclosures about an imminent strike on Houthi rebels earlier this month.
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“Do you think that some of those messages, particularly the ones Pete Hegseth sent, were classified?” Raddatz asked.
“Well clearly the subject matter’s that’s being discussed, the status of ongoing military operations, should be considered classified information,” Turner said. “And it’s surprising to find it in an unclassified manner. To find it in this way is surprising.”
“This information really has, at its roots, classified content,” he added.
“Signal is a vulnerable platform,” Turner said. “Both China and Russia have compromised it at times. … You do have to wonder whether or not the conversation would be vulnerable.”
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Turner, who was removed as chair of the House Intelligence Committee by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in January, also said that there would be further investigation ― “and that’s very important.”
Turner, however, leaned into the “no harm, no foul” excuse of the administration, noting the mission was a success while questioning the credibility of Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who was added to the chat. That’s been another right-wing strategy deployed to gloss over the gaffe.
At one point, Turner wondered aloud whether the conversation would be officially declassified once it entered a channel like Signal.
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He also took issue with the claim that “war plans” were being discussed, engaging in a battle over semantics with Raddatz.
