March 28, 2025
NOTE: The following Is Not Legal Advice, just My 1st Amendment Opinion. All Readers Should Consult Your Own Attorneys.
In March 2025, an unprecedented double-whammy of national security breaches struck the new Trump administration, rocking the West Wing and highlighting the dangers of placing blind trust in “secure” consumer apps. First, word leaked that a classified group chat—used by Secretary of Defense @PeteHegseth , National Security Advisor @MikeWaltz47 , Director of National Intelligence @DNIGabbard , and CIA Director @CIADirector John Ratcliffe—had been compromised on #Signal. This group chat reportedly contained detailed war plans against the Houthi militants in Yemen, including timelines, operational codes, and real-time deliberations that belonged nowhere near an off-the-shelf app. Even more humiliating was the separate revelation that the personal phone numbers, emails, and in some cases passwords of top officials were found circulating online.
Those twin blows—coming mere weeks into Trump’s second term—comprise one of the most devastating security debacles in modern U.S. history. In the eyes of many intelligence professionals, this fiasco was not mere negligence, but a meticulously laid trap set by a #DeepState apparatus who wanted to warn (and shame) any newcomers who assumed they could waltz into Washington and handle national security without “adult supervision.”
The hard truth is that signals intelligence (SIGINT) and infiltration tactics are the bread and butter of those who have spent decades in power—many of them holdovers with ties to the Clinton, Biden, and Victoria Nuland era. For them, the naive arrival of fresh faces like #Hegseth and #Waltz—who put stock in an app they believed was secure—must have been an irresistible opportunity to demonstrate who really rules the roost. In short: If you trust tools we built, expect to pay the price. The result? An embarrassing public meltdown, forced resignations looming, and a harsh lesson in espionage 101 for a White House that learned the hard way: Signal is a Trojan Horse.
Below is an in-depth look at how the fiasco unfolded, who possibly orchestrated it, why it happened, and what must be done if the Trump administration hopes to salvage national security from the jaws of a permanent shadow government.
1. Background: The Deep State’s Ongoing Influence
1.1 The Clinton/Nuland/Biden Intel Legacy
When Donald Trump lost the White House in 2020, the reins of power passed into the hands of Joe Biden’s administration—populated by old foreign-policy heavyweights such as Hillary Clinton loyalists, neocon-friendly figures like Victoria Nuland, and a constellation of well-seasoned intelligence operatives spread throughout the CIA, NSA, and State Department. Over the next four years, these operators not only continued to refine their infiltration and surveillance methods but also quietly embedded themselves deeper into critical communication platforms.
The Clinton–Nuland crowd had orchestrated color revolutions and leveraged new-tech “freedom” apps across the globe. From Ukraine to the Arab Spring, they championed “secure communications” for protest movements that, in reality, were often backdoored or otherwise compromised. So by 2024, as the Trump campaign roared back with a populist agenda, the permanent national security bureaucracy was more entrenched—and more prepared—than ever.
1.2. Enter the Second Trump Term
Despite relentless opposition, Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, promising a housecleaning. He brought along a younger cadre—men and women who had served Fox News roles, talk-show circuits, or short stints in Congress, but did not have the lifetime “gray hair” in intelligence. Men like Pete Hegseth (Defense), Mike Waltz (National Security Advisor), and women like Tulsi Gabbard (Director of National Intelligence)—once lionized as “outsiders” ready to take on entrenched elites. But the events of March 2025 proved how easily the old guard could run circles around them.
2. Signal: The Trojan Horse Everyone Fell For
2.1 The Myth of “Secure Encrypted Messaging”
For years, Signal was hailed as the gold standard of end-to-end encrypted messaging. Even as alternative apps vied for attention, intelligence agencies and mainstream media repeated the refrain: if you want total privacy, use Signal. Politicians across the spectrum took this at face value, ignoring that the platform’s board had curious members linked to the NGO-intelligence ecosystem.
2.2 Katherine Maher: The “Spook” at the Center
The presence of Katherine Maher on the board of the Signal Foundation has drawn intense scrutiny. A former CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation (overseeing Wikipedia), a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a figure connected to the Atlantic Council—Maher encapsulates the modern digital-intelligence operative: no official CIA badge, but a deep résumé in “soft power” organizations heavily interlaced with the U.S. State Department, NATO interests, and philanthropic arms that further Western intelligence objectives.
Critics like Mike Benz, a former State Department official and current executive director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, have flat-out called Maher a “spook through and through.” Benz points out that the U.S. intelligence community would never widely promote a secure communications app to foreign dissidents—like those in the Arab Spring or Belarus—unless it had the means to monitor them. The conclusion is chilling: Signal’s encryption, while real, hides a likely backdoor for top-tier intelligence agencies. Or, at the very least, it is configured to ensure that such infiltration is possible.
In short, Maher’s involvement signals (pun intended) that the app is not neutral. It is precisely the kind of Trojan Horse that’s easy to adopt for unsuspecting government officials—especially those who conflate “open source” with “bulletproof privacy.”
3. The Houthi Attack Leak: @JeffreyGoldberg and the “Accidental” Invite
3.1 How a Journalist Ended Up in a Classified Chat
The first bombshell in March 2025 was the revelation that Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of #TheAtlantic—and widely rumored to have deep intelligence connections—somehow gained access to a private Signal group called “#HouthiPCSmallGroup.” The chat was set up to coordinate impending strikes against #Houthi militants in #Yemen.
Its participants included:
1. Mike Waltz (NSA) – Chat creator, ironically a former Green Beret who should have known better.
2. Pete Hegseth (DoD) – The ex-Fox News host turned Defense Secretary.
3. Tulsi Gabbard (DNI) – A once anti-intervention Democrat, now inside the intelligence machine.
4. John Ratcliffe (CIA) – Previously served under Trump in his first term, presumably more experienced than the rest.
5. @JDVance (@VP ) – Tapped by Trump as his VP in 2024, he was rumored to observe or weigh in.
On or about March 15, 2025, Waltz’s group chat actively discussed launch times for drone strikes, target coordinates, allied support from Saudi forces, and a schedule for Tomahawk missile attacks from a nearby naval group. Analysts believe it was more than enough for the Houthis—or any well-placed foreign intelligence service—to anticipate or disrupt U.S. operations.
Goldberg kept his presence hidden until after bombs fell on the Houthi strongholds, letting the conversation unfold in real time. Then he quietly reached out to The Atlantic’s legal team, and within days published an “exclusive” revealing key messages, timestamps, and direct quotes from Hegseth, Gabbard, and Waltz.
3.2 Mistake, Mole, or Masterful Deception?
The official line from Waltz’s office was that Goldberg was accidentally “auto-added” due to a phone number mix-up—an absurd explanation for a group that presumably deals with classified war plans. Others suspect that someone (perhaps an embedded staffer with leftover ties to the Biden or Clinton apparatus) intentionally added Goldberg.
The deeper suspicion: If Signal is compromised or if administrators with ties to intelligence can forcibly add new participants without the chat owners seeing an obvious notification, then this “accidental add” was a carefully orchestrated infiltration. In either scenario, it was a humiliating fiasco that made the Trump team look like amateurs playing spy games with real bullets.
3.3 Classified Materials on a Consumer App
From a purely legal standpoint, using Signal for war plans is indefensible. The Defense Department and intelligence agencies have strict protocols for discussing classified material, usually involving specialized government-encrypted devices. The group’s violation of these protocols is fodder for potential prosecutions under the Espionage Act. More importantly, it demonstrates the genuine risk of trusting an app that was never cleared for storing or sharing top-secret data.
4. The Second Blow: Personal Data Leaked Online
Almost simultaneously, a separate fiasco erupted: the discovery that personal phone numbers and passwords of Hegseth, Waltz, Gabbard, and other top officials were floating around on the dark web and even on public data-hack forums. These leaks included:
-Mobile phone numbers tied to private and government devices
-Personal emails on Gmail, Yahoo, or other non-official domains
-Passwords (or password hashes) apparently linked to social media or messaging apps
4.1 Two Distinct Breaches—or One Coordinated Attack?
Were the phone number/password leaks tied directly to the Signal fiasco? Possibly not. Many investigators, including some from the German magazine Der Spiegel, say the personal data was gleaned from older hacks or from advanced spyware like Pegasus. However, the near-simultaneous timing, right after the Houthi chat’s exposure, suggests a well-orchestrated campaign:
1. Leak war plans → shame them internationally.
2. Dump phone/password data → demonstrate continuing power and humiliate them further.
The message is stark: “Not only can we see your war chats, we also have your personal phone numbers and even your logins. We own you.”
4.2 The #Israeli #Pegasus Angle
Mike Benz and other critics have repeatedly warned that Israeli-made Pegasus spyware is sold only with Israel’s Ministry of Defense approval—implying that if Pegasus is used on U.S. soil, it’s either done with tacit cooperation from U.S. intelligence or with foreign intelligence oversight. That neither U.S. nor Israeli authorities seemed eager to investigate the phone leaks, and that they occurred at the exact moment the Houthi group-chat meltdown went public, strongly implies a coordinated takedown.
5. Echoes of a Deep State ‘Gotcha’ Moment
5.1 A Show of Power
From the CIA’s vantage point—especially those loyal to the old Biden–Clinton–Nuland axis—this fiasco likely served as a demonstration of what happens when amateurs skip the chain of command. If the new administration really thought they could shuffle around hush-hush war plans on an app once championed by every color-revolution activist from Belarus to Hong Kong, they have just learned that those same revolution–promoting backers have the keys.
5.2 Perjury Traps and More Fallout
One of the scariest aspects of the leak is the potential for perjury charges. If Hegseth, Waltz, or Gabbard made statements under oath—either to Congress or in written forms—that they never used unauthorized channels or never shared classified data on personal devices, the chat logs contradict them. The White House is now forced to juggle both legal and political crises.
Resignations may be imminent. At minimum, Hegseth’s job is in jeopardy. Gabbard, after early rumored tensions with the intelligence community, might face enormous pressure to step down to shield the administration from further scandal. Waltz, as the chat’s creator, is arguably the first head that must roll. Even John Ratcliffe, presumably more experienced, could be forced to resign for failing to clamp down on incompetent or ignorant staff behavior.
5.3 Ratcliffe’s Revelation: Signal Was “Already There”
An intriguing note: John Ratcliffe once admitted that when he stepped into office, Signal was already installed on his devices from the prior administration. If that software was configured—intentionally or not—as a Trojan Horse, then the path for infiltration was paved months, if not years, before Trump’s return. This only underscores how thoroughly the Deep State can embed tools in the system, waiting for new arrivals to inherit them unwittingly.
6. The Katherine Maher Angle: Why This Matters So Much
You can’t tell the Signal story without focusing on Katherine Maher. A consummate networker with ties to the Atlantic Council and the Council on Foreign Relations, Maher’s background includes:
-CEO of Wikimedia Foundation – Overseeing Wikipedia, which some claim shapes global narratives.
-Fellow at the Atlantic Council – A major “NATO think tank” with a track record of backing U.S. foreign policy initiatives and color revolutions.
-Board Member of the Signal Foundation – Overseeing an app sold as a “privacy fortress.”
@MikeBenzCyber has hammered home the point that Maher’s presence is a classic example of Deep State infiltration in philanthropic or civil-society organizations. She doesn’t wear a CIA badge, but her entire career, from the Arab Spring era to philanthropic digital diplomacy, is deeply enmeshed with efforts favored by intelligence agencies. In the eyes of critics, that alone suggests a conflict of interest: If you want to run a Trojan Horse disguised as a “freedom app,” who better to oversee it than a Council on Foreign Relations affiliate with impeccable progressive-liberal credentials?
Given that the entire second Trump term meltdown revolves around the compromise of a so-called “secure” platform, it’s impossible not to see Maher and her network’s fingerprints here.
7. Lessons Learned—and the Path Forward
The stark reality is that the Trump administration has been schooled by the Deep State on the fundamentals of espionage, counterintelligence, and operational security. But this humiliating fiasco could also serve as a pivot point—an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and rebuild a truly disciplined national security structure. Below are essential lessons and next steps.
7.1 Ditch the Trojan Horse
Purge Signal immediately from all government devices and personal phones used by senior officials. The app is beyond salvaging for top-secret conversations. Any illusions that it can be locked down with “better protocols” must be dispelled. The deeper infiltration or potential backdoor is simply not worth the risk.
7.2 Official, Hardened Comms Only
All sensitive or classified discussions must occur via government-approved and -maintained encryption systems. That typically involves specialized hardware like secure phones or the Defense Department’s suite of end-to-end solutions. No consumer-grade apps. No off-the-shelf software.
7.3 Sweep Devices—Start Fresh
The White House, Pentagon, and intelligence offices need a top-to-bottom cyber forensic sweep. Every device used by Waltz, Hegseth, Gabbard, or others must be quarantined, inspected, and potentially destroyed if infiltration is confirmed. This is standard protocol in severe infiltration cases.
7.4 Reinforce Training and Accountability
A thorough cybersecurity re-education is in order. Everyone—from the Vice President to mid-level staffers—should re-learn the rules on classified data, the chain of command for communications, and the nature of infiltration. Penalties for violating these rules must be clear and enforced. We cannot allow group chats about war plans to happen ever again on non-classified channels.
7.5 Bring In Seasoned Pros: Macgregor and Sachs?
One silver lining is that the humiliating removal of naive operators opens the door for more experienced figures. If Colonel @DougAMacgregor, known for his no-nonsense approach and deep strategic knowledge, or Jeffrey Sachs—valued for his insight into global finance and diplomacy—join the administration, they might impose discipline. Seasoned minds are less likely to fall for next-generation color revolution tools disguised as do-gooder apps.
7.6 Public Accountability
Finally, if the administration truly wants to break from the mistakes of the past, it must show transparency. For instance, a declassified run-down of how the infiltration happened, who orchestrated it, and how it was discovered could help restore confidence. Of course, releasing too many details about an active espionage investigation is tricky, but a measured level of public disclosure might demonstrate that the new White House can pivot, accept blame, and correct course.
8. Interpreting the Deep State’s Message: “We Still Own You”
It’s impossible to read these events without concluding that the old intelligence guard deliberately orchestrated a “show of force” to put the new Trump circle in its place. The near-perfect timing of the “Signal fiasco” (leaked war plans about Yemen) and the subsequent phone-number/password dump are more than coincidences. They point to a well-orchestrated campaign that says:
“We built these tools, we see what you do, and we’ll expose you at our leisure. Cross us, or try to bypass us, and we will teach you a lesson.”
For Americans who believed that electing an outsider administration automatically meant a purge of establishment influence, these events are a wake-up call. The national security bureaucracy is not a mere abstract concept; it is a living network, integrated into technology, media, and policy-making institutions. They’ve spent decades building that power, and they will not relinquish it easily.
9. Conclusion: A Reckoning and a Reset
We can not rule out that Mike Waltz is a traitor who may have had connections to the MIC or Goldbergs number all along. I warned this administration about him repeatedly. Ether way, please, @realDonaldTrump you must purge Waltz to be sure you are not compromised. Not to do so would be just too risky and downright reckless. But the meltdown over the Yemen war plan leak, combined with the humiliating personal-data doxxing of top officials, is far more than a short-term scandal. It is a case study in how the permanent intelligence apparatus can weaponize technology to keep its grip on power—and embarrass any administration that attempts a naive end-run.
By trusting Signal—an app riddled with ties to the philanthropic-intelligence nexus—the new Trump administration literally handed them the keys to their own war room. By failing to isolate official comms, they made it effortless for an Atlantic journalist with deep intelligence ties to step into a front-row seat. And by ignoring the suspicious presence of leftover software on inherited devices, they practically left the back door wide open. This doesn't even answer the question, were they using their personal phones?
The bigger question remains: Will Trump’s White House stand by the younger, inexperienced staffers who triggered this fiasco—risking deeper infiltration and public mockery? Or will he remove them, elevate veterans who know the score, and declare war on the infiltration from the ground up?
Either way, the lesson stands: #Trojan horses come dressed as “secure apps.” A naïve or complacent government official—no matter how well-meaning—can be undone in seconds by the intelligence professionals who built that Trojan from day one.
The Deep State might still be celebrating this victory, but history suggests that humiliations can ignite reform. If the second Trump term truly seeks to dethrone the old guard, it will need a radical overhaul of its digital security posture, a ruthless purge of infiltration tools, and a new reliance on old-school, “boring” but robust classified channels.
One thing is certain: If the administration refuses to adapt, it will continue to lose battles against an embedded intelligence complex that has no qualms about burning them in public—and letting the rest of the world see just how easily they can take them down.
Final Word
The episode stands as a cautionary tale. Secure messaging apps—no matter how many cryptographers extol their encryption—can be Trojan horses for intelligence. The presence of powerful, behind-the-scenes figures like Katherine Maher isn’t coincidence. The Clinton/Nuland/Biden-era deep operatives do not simply vanish with an election. They remain embedded in think tanks, NGO boards, philanthropic groups, and open-source software foundations. They are watchers and a force to be reckoned with, a threat to be respected.
In an era where ephemeral messages and hush-hush group chats can define foreign policy, the Trojan Horse called Signal has revealed itself. Whether the White House will learn from this blow—or dismiss it as a fluke—will define the future of U.S. national security. For now, though, there’s little doubt: the Deep State chalked up a major win, and they did it with near-breathtaking ease.
May the Grace, Mercy, And Peace Of The Lord Jesus Christ Be With You All. In HIs Love,
~WLBJ~
Watchman, Biblical Scholar, U.S. Citizen, Civil Rights Activist.