Ask Me Help Desk - The disinformation game played by the compliant press.

Musk is scheduled to visit the Pentagon today. That is confirmed . What is not confirmed is the rumor the compliant press spread.

Pentagon Set Up Briefing for Musk on Potential War With China - The New York Times

Elon Musk to visit Pentagon to discuss DOGE efforts and China, officials say - The Washington Post

Elon Musk Will Be Briefed on U.S. Military’s Secret Plan for Potential War with China: Reports

I could link to more articles . But you get the point . In a huge expansion of Musk's influence ;he is going to sit in on briefings about war with China.

This is based on unnamed "two U.S. officials."

This has been viral for a day .

Both Trump and Sec Defense Hegseth deny that there will be a China briefing .

(1) Pete Hegseth on X: "We look forward to welcoming @elonmusk to the Pentagon tomorrow. But the fake news delivers again — this is NOT a meeting about “top secret China war plans.” It’s an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production. Gonna be great!" / X

Quote:

"China will not even be mentioned or discussed," Trump said in a post about the Pentagon meeting on Truth Social on Thursday.

Trump denies Musk to be briefed on top-secret plan for potential war with China | Reuters

But now the story is out there .... truth or fiction.

ok I now believe Pete Hegseth is in over his head . Time for him to step down . I don't say that lightly . I had hoped he would work out .

But now we know that he does not take national security seriously OR he is too inexperience for the role he has ,

He included Jeffery Goldberg of opposition press Atlantic Mag in a group chat where he revealed the details of the attacks on the Houtis ,hours before the strike happened.

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans - The Atlantic

Details including weapons used, targets, and timing ;and was sent two hours ahead of the attacks, which began March 15.

The group included Veep Vance ;Sec State Rubio ;DNI Tulsi Gabbard ;and CIA boss John Ratcliffe and NSA John Ratcliffe . How in hell did the Atlantic reporter end up on the list ?

Goldberg did not even believe he was included in such a group .He did not know for a fact it was real until the bombs started dropping.

Trump says he had no knowledge of this . But come on man ! Trump has wasted enough political capital defending Hegseth . The role he has is too important to be held by someone loosey goosey on security about military action. Trump could easily find someone else committed to his agenda who could better run the military .

Why are they using group chat to discuss war plans ?

This is a serious breach of security .

The Signal App controversy gets some clarity and I may have spoke too soon about the security breach

Coincidence ??? ... CIA Director John Ratcliffe just happened to be scheduled to testify to the Senate Intel Committee the day after Goldberg revealed he was included in a group chat that discussed attack plans on the Houthis minutes before the attacks took place.
How fortuitous that two of the principles were due to testify the very next day while the incident was fresh in everyone's mind and the Dems were plotting about how to make the most political hay from it.

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The hearing, which had been previously scheduled, came a day after a bombshell report by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that the Vice President, Secretary of Defense, National Security Adviser, and other top officials had used the unsecured platform to coordinate U.S. military strikes in Yemen, and had mistakenly included a journalist in the conversation. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, both of whom appeared to have been participants in the Signal group chat according to The Atlantic’s report, were hammered by Senate Democrats, who decried the episode as reckless.

Was Trump's intel team set up ? Ratcliffe insists he does not know Goldberg and had no reason to include him in the group chat he set up. But if not him then who?

Ratcliffe testified that when he was confirmed ,one of the first things that happened was that the CIA INSTALLED Signal on his computer .

Quote:

"One of the first things that happened when I was confirmed as CIA director was Signal was loaded onto my computer at the CIA as it is for most CIA officers," Ratcliffe said.

CIA director John Ratcliffe defends involvement in botched Signal chat, denies sharing classified information

OH the CIA installed the app so the intel people could conduct candid discussions without the concern of compromising security . I see.

This would be the same CIA that historically used USAID funds to finance covert activities

Quote:

There is a long-standing history of ties between USAID and the CIA. During the Cold War, they worked together in training police forces all across the world, notably in Latin America, where the exercises allegedly included techniques of torture. USAID also served as cover for various covert activities, especially during the Vietnam War. After the Cold War, according to Weiner, the agency funded democracy-building programs in the former Soviet Union, “sometimes on its own, sometimes in concert with the CIA.” As recently as 10 years ago, it used its pro-democracy rubric to help foment anti-regime propaganda in Cuba.
Throughout this period, as was the case with U.S. embassies generally, USAID was used as a front for CIA officers

USAID: Why it’s a huge deal Trump and Musk are trying to shut down this governmental agency.

Trump wants to shut down their source for funding covert activities ? The same Trump who campaigned to "overhaul " the intel agencies

Trump has promised to overhaul U.S. intelligence, setting up collision course with spy agencies | PBS News

And yet they should be trusted when they set up an app so Trump officials can have secured candid conversations . Interesting . I doubt we will ever have confirmation about who gave Goldberg ;the editor of a magazine that despised Trump , access to these conversations . But I have a pretty good idea how it happened .

I see how the Dems are playing this. Trump's team says nothing classified was discussed. The Dems are calling for transcripts to be released.

Quote:

The broader political implications of the controversy are also coming into focus. For years, Republicans have fiercely criticized past administrations for alleged mishandling of classified materials. “I would imagine if you looked at what those Senators had to say about Hillary's emails, you’d see a pretty striking contrast,” Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, told TIME, referring to the years of unrelenting attacks from Republicans over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server while in the Obama Administration.

Signal Chat Fallout: Congress Pushes For Full Transcript | TIME

The big difference is that the release of this conversation was inadvertent in that apparently no one involved as aware of the breach.

In Evita's case ,she set up her own unsecured network for the purpose of bypassing security and oversight.

It appears that I was wrong about Hegseth. He had every reason to believe the group was on a secure chat. So where is the blame for the blunder ? Ratcliffe set up the group . But he did not include Goldberg .

Narrowing it down ;National Security Advisor Mike Waltz ;or someone in his staff either deliberately or inadvertently added the editor of a magazine that absolutely despises Trump.

Waltz has already been caught in a lie about his relationship with Goldberg . His 'I don't know him ' defense has been exposed. Pictures of him and Goldberg together emerged . Where were they ? They were together at an event where Goldberg and French author Bernard-Henri Lévy were headliners in a conversation.

It could be that it was a mistake of adding someone on his contact list much like all my frequent pocket dialing . If so he should say so and be done with it. Stuff like that is why I only use my phone for calls and the occasional text when necessary. Once that send gets hit ;it can't be reversed.

We know that Trump won't fire him after the disaster of Russiagate and how his first National Security Advisor Mike Flynn got set up. But the question is how much trust does Trump and his staff have in Waltz now ?

This really is not a big deal . The Dems will keep the story alive because they still have the compliant press . They will keep circling because they smell blood.

I will address the race to replace Waltz in Congress on another posting.

Quote:

'I don't know him

Always a risky comment. It is much better to be a little careful with, "I don't recall ever meeting him.

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It could be that it was a mistake of adding someone on his contact list much like all my frequent pocket dialing . If so he should say so and be done with it.

His problem is that his best defense is an admission of startling carelessness. Since that's the best he has, then yes, he should put it out there and get it behind him. The Trump admin needs to come forward and say it was a ridiculous mistake to make and that it best not happen again. Instead we get these foolish efforts to lie and distort.

And even worse ;instead of attention to the point made by Vance about Europe sharing the burden; We are stuck in discussions about the sloppy caretaking of Signal chats

https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...BA&oe=67EB6173

During all the back and forth about Signal ,the real reason that Gabbard was summoned to the Hill was to be quizzed about the Intel Threat Assessment that published for this year.

There was an amusing exchange between Gabbard and Senator Angus King (Maine ) who asked why climate change had not been added as a national security threat as it had been in recent threat assessments . Gabbard knocked it out .

“I can’t speak to the decisions made previously, but this annual threat assessment has been focused very directly on the threats that we deem most critical to the United States and our national security.”

But but but .............. he gave a litany of reasons why climate change is a threat. Then he asked her is she had given explicit instructions to not include it in the report .

“I don’t recall giving that instruction.”
WATCH: Sen. King asks Gabbard why climate change was not included in latest worldwide threats report

You have to understand his concern. Climate change has been very very good for King

Angus King defends his wind career

From the OP

Quote:

This is based on unnamed "two U.S. officials."

We now know who they are .

Sec Defense Pete Hegseth had a couple of his top advisors put on administrative leave. Dan Caldwell was escorted from the Pentagon and placed on administrative leave for "an unauthorized disclosure" . Following him was Darin Selnick, who had been serving as the Defense Department’s deputy chief of staff.

Quote:

The leaks under investigation include military operational plans for the Panama canal, a second carrier headed to the Red Sea, Elon Musk’s controversial visit to the Pentagon and pausing the collection of intelligence to Ukraine, the other official said

Two top Pentagon officials placed on leave in leak probe - POLITICO

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ok I now believe Pete Hegseth is in over his head . Time for him to step down . I don't say that lightly . I had hoped he would work out .

But now we know that he does not take national security seriously OR he is too inexperience for the role he has ,

I can't figure this guy out. He is now the subject of another group chat about a Yemen attack . Maybe it was classified maybe not . If troops can be killed or mission compromised he should not be playing fast and loose.

He is the Sec Def and should start taking it seriously .

He is damaged goods and time for Trump to cut bait .
Hegseth Said to Have Shared Attack Details in Second Signal Chat - The New York Times

With all the stuff going down about the Atlantic Magazine's bias against Trump what did he do ?????? He sat down for an interview with them so they can have another cover story ripping his a$$ !!!! Unbelievable !!!

‘I Run the Country and the World’ - The Atlantic How bad is it ?

This is in their first paragraph before Trump is quoted for anything

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Just four years ago, after the violent insurrection he fomented,......

Great way to start .

What could go wrong ? He was interviewed by former Compost reporters Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer who's article before this one trashed Trump's cabinet .
Trump's Cabinet is Cosplaying - The Atlantic

The money quote from the article ;taken completely out of content and featured in the article title .....

"I run the country and the world."

In saying this he was comparing his 1st and 2nd terms .

Here is the full quote

"The first time, I had two things to do—run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys," "And the second time, I run the country and the world."

He was inexperienced his first term and relied on recommendations from RNC swamp dwellers who's advice he thought was suspect. This time his aides are self selected for good or bad.

Even worse on Truth Social he has indicated he would do a sit down with Jeffry Goldberg ;who has a history of Trump hatred and who exposed the Signal controversy .

Waltz is out . Know it wasn't a firing (snicker) .He was "promoted " to nominee for US rep to the UN .There he will be able to talk everyone to sleep and not worry about revealing anything of value.