Latest news with #WhiteHouseCounsel'sOffice
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chicago lawyer appointed interim U.S. Attorney for Northern District of Illinois: sources
CHICAGO - The Trump administration has selected a Chicago lawyer to serve as the next interim U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, sources told FOX 32. What we know Andrew Boutros, a former federal prosecutor, co-chairs government and white-collar investigations at a Chicago law firm. He also serves as a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School. Local Lawmakers Weigh In Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth issued a statement saying, "The White House has assured our offices that there will be no nomination for the permanent U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois until the White House Counsel's Office has consulted with both of our offices." The position remained vacant during the Biden administration due to a hold on U.S. Attorney nominees, including April Perry, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, according to the senators. "For decades, the Senate has confirmed U.S. Attorneys by voice vote or unanimous consent after consideration by the Judiciary Committee. Before the 117th Congress, the last time a roll call vote was required for a U.S. Attorney nominee was in 1975," the statement reads. The senators added that during the Biden administration, Durbin was forced to go through the process twice when a Republican colleague blocked nearly a dozen Justice Department nominees from being confirmed by voice vote. After a unanimous consent request, the senator lifted the objection, allowing the nominees to be confirmed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Elon Musk tapped to help lead investigation into Signal chat leak: White House
Elon Musk is helping lead the investigation into the Signal chat leak involving top national security leaders and the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, White House press secretary Karonline Leavitt said Wednesday. "The National Security Council, the White House Counsel's Office, and also, yes, Elon Musk's team" will be leading the investigation into the Signal leak, Leavitt said during Wednesday's White House press conference. "Elon Musk has offered to put his technical experts on this, to figure out how this number was inadvertently added to the chat — again, to take responsibility and ensure this can never happen again," she continued. The Trump administration is facing backlash from Democrats and other critics after The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed in an article published Monday that he was added to a Signal group chat with top national security leaders, including national security advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Judge Fighting Trump Over El Salvador Deportations Assigned To Lawsuit Over Signal Chat Leak Signal is an encrypted messaging app that operates similarly to texting or making phone calls, but with additional security measures that help ensure communications are kept private to those included in the correspondence. Read On The Fox News App The Atlantic's initial report characterized the Trump administration as texting "war plans" to one another. The Trump administration has maintained that no classified material was transmitted in the chat, with President Donald Trump defending Waltz amid the fallout. Trump revealed Tuesday that a member of Waltz's office invited Goldberg to the chat, but did not provide additional information. Trump Admin Declares The Atlantic's Signal Article A 'Hoax' After It Drops 'War Plans' Rhetoric Waltz joined Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" on Tuesday, where he took responsibility for the inadvertent addition of Goldberg to the chat, arguing he believed the account belonged to someone else. "I built the group. My job is to make sure everything's coordinated," Waltz said. "Of course I didn't see this loser in the group. It looked like someone else," Waltz added. "The person I thought was on there was never on there." Waltz also said during the interview that he had just spoken to Musk about the matter and that the "best technical minds" would look into it. Musk is helping lead the Department of Government Efficiency, which has been poring through federal agencies in search of government overspending, fraud and mismanagement. "If this story proves anything, it proves that Democrats and their propagandists in the mainstream media know how to fabricate, orchestrate and disseminate a misinformation campaign quite well," Leavitt continued. "And there's arguably no one in the media who loves manufacturing and pushing hoaxes more than Jeffrey Goldberg." Trump Officials Accidentally Text Atlantic Journalist About Military Strikes In Apparent Security Breach Following Monday's report in The Atlantic concerning the Signal chat, Goldberg published a Wednesday follow-up story that included messages directly from the chat. The article notably did not characterize the correspondence as "war plans," instead opting to refer to them as "attack plans" in the headline. The Trump administration responded that the follow-up story proved that there were "no war plans" in the correspondence, taking a victory lap that the story was exposed to be a "hoax." "The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT 'war plans,'" Leavitt posted to X on Wednesday morning. "This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin." Hegseth Fends Off Reporter's Questions About Signal Chat Leak Waltz posted to X on Wednesday, "No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS. Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests." A spokesperson for The Atlantic defended that the outlet did expose a "war plan" in its Wednesday report, pointing Fox News Digital to a screenshot included in the piece of Hegseth's messages related to F-18s and drone strikes that were accompanied by timestamps for the operation. "If this information — particularly the exact times American aircraft were taking off for Yemen — had fallen into the wrong hands in that crucial two-hour period, American pilots and other American personnel could have been exposed to even greater danger than they ordinarily would face," the report stated. Leavitt said during the press conference that Signal is an "approved app" for government employees, citing that the "CIA has it loaded onto government phones because it is the most secure and efficient way to communicate."Original article source: Elon Musk tapped to help lead investigation into Signal chat leak: White House
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump names ‘first buddy' and DOGE leader Elon Musk to investigate Signal blunder
Elon Musk and the team at the Department of Government Efficiency will assist the White House and National Security Council in investigating how a journalist was added to a Signal group chat with national security officials, the White House Press Secretary said on Wednesday. After the shocking news that the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic was added to a group with cabinet members about a U.S. military operation in Yemen, lawmakers and the public have called for investigations into how the incident occurred. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said those requests would be filled by the National Security Council, White House Counsel's Office and Musk's DOGE team. 'The National Security Council, the White House Counsel's Office and also yes, Elon Musk's team,' Leavitt told reporters at the press briefing on Wednesday. 'Elon Musk has offered to put his technical experts on this to figure out how this number was inadvertently added to the chat. Again, to take responsibility and ensure this can never happen again.' National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has taken responsibility for the blunder, telling reporters on Tuesday that he inadvertently added Jeffery Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to the group chat on Signal. However, Waltz has struggled to explain how Goldberg became a contact in his phone, asserting that he doesn't know him nor text him. President Donald Trump suggested that Goldberg may have added himself, saying the technology allows for someone to 'get onto those things.' While an internal investigation may be underway, five of the cabinet members in the Signal group chat, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe face a federal lawsuit. The lawsuit, brought by the nonprofit American Oversight, is asking a judge to order the cabinet member to preserve the Signal messages, claiming the use of Signal – an encrypted but commercially available app – violates federal law. This is a breaking news story, more follows…
Fox News
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Elon Musk tapped to help lead investigation into Signal chat leak: White House
Elon Musk is helping lead the investigation into the Signal chat leak involving top national security leaders and the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, the White House press secretary said Wednesday. "The National Security Council, the White House Counsel's Office, and also, yes, Elon Musk's team" will be leading the investigation into the Signal leak, press secretary Karonline Leavitt said during Wednesday's White House press conference. "Elon Musk has offered to put his technical experts on this, to figure out how this number was inadvertently added to the chat – again, to take responsibility and ensure this can never happen again," she continued. The Trump administration is facing backlash from Democrats and other critics after the Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed in an article published Monday that he was added to a Signal group chat with top national security leaders, including national security advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Signal is an encrypted messaging app that operates similarly to texting or making phone calls, but with additional security measures that help ensure communications are kept private to those included in the correspondence. The Atlantic's initial report characterized the Trump administration as texting "war plans" to one another. The Trump administration has maintained that no classified material was transmitted in the chat, with President Donald Trump defending Waltz amid the fallout. Trump revealed Tuesday that a member of Waltz's office invited Goldberg to the chat, but did not provide additional information. Waltz joined Fox News' "Ingraham Angle" Tuesday, where he took responsibility for the inadvertent addition of Goldberg to the chat, arguing he believed the account belonged to someone else. "I built the group. My job is to make sure everything's coordinated," Waltz said. "Of course I didn't see this loser in the group. It looked like someone else," Waltz added. "The person I thought was on there was never on there." Waltz also said during the interview that he had just spoken to Musk about the matter and that the "best technical minds" would look into it. Musk is helping lead the Department of Government Efficiency, which has been poring through federal agencies in search of government overspending, fraud and mismanagement. "If this story proves anything, it proves that Democrats and their propagandists in the mainstream media know how to fabricate, orchestrate and disseminate a misinformation campaign quite well," Leavitt continued. "And there's arguably no one in the media who loves manufacturing and pushing hoaxes more than Jeffrey Goldberg." Following Monday's report in the Atlantic concerning the Signal chat, Goldberg published a Wednesday follow-up story that included messages directly from the chat. The article notably did not characterize the correspondence as "war plans," instead opting to refer to them as "attack plans" in the headline. The Trump administration responded that the follow-up story proved that there were "no war plans" in the correspondence, taking a victory lap that the story was exposed to be a "hoax." "The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT 'war plans,'" Leavitt posted to X Wednesday morning. "This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin." Waltz posted to X Wednesday, "No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS. Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests." A spokesperson for the Atlantic defended that the outlet did expose a "war plan" in its Wednesday report, pointing Fox News Digital to a screenshot included in the piece of Hegseth's messages related to F-18s and drone strikes that were accompanied by timestamps for the operation. "If this information – particularly the exact times American aircraft were taking off for Yemen – had fallen into the wrong hands in that crucial two-hour period, American pilots and other American personnel could have been exposed to even greater danger than they ordinarily would face," the report stated. Leavitt said during the press conference that Signal is an "approved app" for government employees, citing that the "CIA has it loaded onto government phones because it is the most secure and efficient way to communicate."
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'War Plans'? What War Plans? Trump Press Secretary Tries To Clean Up Group Chat Mess
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt boldly denied there being any discussion of 'war plans' going on in a group chat between government officials which was accidentally infiltrated by journalist Jeffrey Goldberg earlier this month. Though the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic plainly detailed how he ended up in the highly sensitive national security conversation in a bombshell exposé published Monday, Leavitt still tried her hardest to rewrite the situation in a post on X Tuesday morning. After first claiming that Goldberg was 'well-known for his sensationalist spin,' she laid out a list of dubious 'facts' about the fiasco. 1. No 'war plans' were discussed. 2. No classified material was sent to the thread. 3. The White House Counsel's Office has provided guidance on a number of different platforms for President Trump's top officials to communicate as safely and efficiently as possible. Leavitt went on to note that the White House is investigating how Goldberg's number was 'inadvertently added to the thread' and commended President Donald Trump for following through on the March 15 military offensive against Yemen's Houthi rebels which was discussed in emoji-peppered texts on the encrypted messaging app Signal. 'Terrorists were killed and that's what matters most to President Trump,' she concluded. While Leavitt maintained that 'war plans' were not part of the conversation, Goldberg had a very different account of what went down in the chat, which included Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and a list of other prominent White House officials. According to Goldberg, the texts 'included precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing.' Hegseth used the same lines as Leavitt while addressing the ordeal on Monday after Goldberg's account was published. 'You're talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who's made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again,' he told the press while touching down in Hawaii. 'Nobody was texting war plans,' Hegseth went on. 'That's all I have to say about that.' Mike Johnson Downplays Group Chat Leaks As 'Officials Doing Their Job,' Gets Torched On X Atlantic Editor Slams Pete Hegseth's Defense Of War Plan Group Text: 'That's A Lie' Pete Hegseth And Mike Waltz Ripped As 'Careless,' 'Incompetent' Amid Calls To Resign
