Hillary Clinton – The US Secretary of State lost Donald Trump’s presidential election amid scandal over the use of private servers for classified emails – responding to Monday’s news about leaks of highly sensitive military plans at the White House, saying, “You have to make a joke.”
Clinton cut off the response on the X platform with an eye emoji and a link to an Atlantic article. This revealed how Trump officials carelessly broadcast US airstrike plans against the Houthi rebels through signal group chats with journalists who are reading alongside journalists.
Trump and his supporters had mercilessly criticised her for using classified emails and private servers before and after defeating her in the presidential election nine years ago, and called for her to be jailed.
Among them were several participants in the group chat reported by the Atlantic. Pete Hegses, Secretary of Defense. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. John Ratcliffe, Director of Central Intelligence. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
“If they were anyone other than Hillary Clinton, they would be in prison now,” former Fox News host Hegseth said in a montage that CNN showed on his previous network in 2016, which went viral Monday night.
That same year, Rubio said of Fox:
In 2019, Ratcliffe told Fox:
And with the arrival of CNN in 2023, Waltz complained about the lack of prosecution against “Clinton’s email.”
After winning their second presidency in November, they all were appointed to Trump’s Cabinet.
On Monday, the White House confirmed a leak reported by the Atlantic, but in essence it was harmless and showed “a deep and thoughtful coordination among the senior officials.”
“The continued success of Operation Houthi shows that there was no threat to the military or national security,” White House spokesman Brian Hughes told the Guardian.
Meanwhile, Hegses has shamed Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who was accidentally brought to the signal chat. Hegseth claimed that “no one had texted the war plan,” and urged Goldberg to respond to MSNBC, saying he saw “minute accounting” for a plan to bomb Yemeni targets related to Houthis.
Asked Monday’s view on Goldberg’s report, Trump insisted, “I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a huge Atlantic fan…but I don’t know anything about it.”
By Tuesday, he reportedly told NBC News that Waltz had “learned lessons and he’s a good guy.” He also reflected Hughes by claiming that Goldberg’s presence in Signal Chat “had no effect on it.”
Clinton served as Secretary of State under former President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. Her husband, Bill Clinton, was president for two consecutive terms in 1993.
When Hillary Clinton ran for presidency, then-directed FBI James Comey said there was evidence that she had sent or received 113 emails to private servers containing information classified during the communication. In addition, about 2,000 emails were later classified.
Comey said Clinton was “very careless” but not acting in a way worthy of criminal charges.
