[By Guancha Observer Network, Xiong Chaoyan] Previously, a "group chat leak" incident was exposed in the Trump cabinet. National Security Advisor Hultze was considered the "culprit" for being mistakenly pulled into the group chat by a reporter. However, after捅ing up a mess, it was also found that he had "fatal flaws"...

On April 2 local time, The Washington Post exclusively reported after reviewing relevant documents and interviewing three American officials that members of the National Security Council (NSC), including Hultze, were reportedly using personal Gmail (Google Mail) to handle government affairs.

The report stated that compared with the encrypted messaging app Signal used in the previous "group chat leak," using Gmail for official communication is even less secure, which once again exposes the highly controversial data security operations of senior US national security officials. This team had already faced widespread external skepticism in the "group chat leak" incident.

According to the email records reviewed by The Washington Post, a senior aide to Hultze had used commercial email services to engage in technically advanced conversations with colleagues from other government agencies regarding sensitive military deployments and heavy weapon systems related to current conflicts. The email header showed that although this NSC official used a Gmail account, the cross-departmental contacts were all using government-issued email accounts.

Several officials who requested anonymity revealed that Hultze's Gmail account also received information of lower sensitivity but still potentially valuable, such as work documents like schedules. These officials, along with other informed individuals, believed that such methods of handling information were problematic. It was said that Hultze often copied schedule contents to Signal to coordinate meeting arrangements.

Experts pointed out that given that foreign intelligence agencies attach great importance to the communications and schedules of senior government officials such as the National Security Advisor, using personal email accounts, even for non-classified materials, poses risks.

US National Security Advisor Hultze Visual China

However, National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes responded to this, saying that Hultze was not found to be using personal email accounts as described in the reports. He argued that when "historical contacts" sent work emails to him, Hultze would always copy the government email to ensure compliance with the Federal Archives Law requirements for archiving official communications.

"Hultze has never, nor will ever, transmit classified information through unencrypted accounts," Hughes emphasized. When asked about aides discussing sensitive military issues via Gmail, Hughes stated that NSC staff had undergone standardized training to "only use secure platforms for handling classified information."

On March 24 local time, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, revealed that he had previously been mistakenly pulled into a confidential group chat by US National Security Advisor Hultze and was prematurely informed of detailed plans for the US air strike against Yemen's Houthi forces.

According to the爆料 article in The Atlantic, in the leaked group chat, Vice President Vance advocated delaying the strike on the Houthi forces in Yemen and criticized Europe again for "freeloading" on US military defense, emphasizing that he "hated rescuing Europe again." Defense Secretary Hecesith also told Vance: "I fully agree with your aversion to Europe's freeloaders; it's pitiful."

Later, the White House admitted that several senior cabinet officials had indeed used non-confidential commercial chat software to discuss confidential military plans. Trump himself responded by saying he was not involved in this group chat and defended Hultze, calling him "a good person." At the same time, Trump attacked the爆料 journalist Goldberg as a "despicable person," accusing him of "fabricating many stories harmful to the country."

Although Trump publicly supported him, Hultze still faced pressure to resign.

According to Politico's local time report on March 28, at a private meeting on the evening of March 26, Vice President Vance, White House Chief of Staff Wells, and senior personnel official Gor gently suggested some advice to Trump.

The report said that Hultze's mistake of pulling a reporter into the chat group made the White House very embarrassed. Two anonymous insiders said they suggested that perhaps it was time to consider getting rid of him.

According to informed sources, Trump admitted that Hultze had messed things up, but he ultimately decided not to fire Hultze for only one reason: doing so would seem like giving a victory to liberal media and die-hard Democrats. "He didn't want to give the media a chance to win," one insider said.

The Washington Post pointed out that Hultze had previously been the first former Army Special Forces (Army Green Beret) member elected to Congress and had served as an advisor to former Vice President Dick Cheney. For a long time, he had publicly emphasized the importance of confidential information and had severely criticized the Department of Justice for not bringing criminal charges over Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State.

This article is an exclusive contribution by the Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7488706842227393076/

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