The news about the administration of Donald Trump using the messaging app Signal to plan military operations has galvanized many in the public.

On March 24, reports emerged that beginning on March 11, The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg had been added to a Signal group titled “Houthi PC [Principals Committee] small group.” The chat included various cabinet members and national security officials; Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Steve Witkoff, the Special Envoy to the Middle East, among other close White House officials.

Goldberg was added to the chat by Mike Waltz, and reports that the group’s members discussed “implementing the president’s directive to take a harder line on the Houthis, an Iranian-backed militant group in Yemen” as well as celebrating the successful targeting of Houthi targets; also revealed in this chat was a complete loathing and great dislike of Europe, most heavily exhibited by Vance and Hegseth. Furthermore, Steve Witkoff received potentially damaging information while on an official trip to Russia, at one point just prior to a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

The response from the administration to this revelation has been mixed; Hegseth, when asked about the group, went on the defensive and evaded questions, saying Goldberg is “a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who has made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt similarly called Goldberg a sensationalist journalist and maintained that “war plans” were not discussed. Ratcliffe and Gabbard, in sworn Senate testimony, both gave statements confirming they were present in the chat but, respectively, maintained the chat’s lawfulness and that “here were not classified or intelligence equities” shared; Ratcliffe also went further, stating Signal “was loaded on his work computer at the CIA when he started the job and claimed it was permitted as a communication tool for work purposes.”

Meanwhile, a National Security Council spokesman told Goldberg before the article’s publication the message chain appeared to be legitimate, again confirming this to CBS News after the article’s publication. Steve Witkoff, like the others defended his actions on social media, but inadvertently admitted he was conducting highly sensitive discussions on his own personal device.

Despite intense outcry from Democratic legislators, former military officers, and citizens alike, Trump defended Waltz calling him “a good man [who] learned a lesson.” The Republican Party, on the other hand, has been working overtime to defend the necessity of the Signal chat or otherwise engaging in many a logical fallacy to deflect criticism.

It is not hyperbole or embellishment to call this the most significant security lapse in recent American national security history. This is a serious and massive breach of security, damaging on numerous fronts, and appears to be blatantly illegal.

Under 18 U.S. Code § 793 “Gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information,” an individual who “knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person…in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States … any classified information” can risk imprisonment of up to ten years, a fine, or both. By adding Goldberg to the Signal group, even unintentionally or inadvertently, the careless actions of Trump’s entire national security team appear to have violated the law concerning the transmission of classified material.

Furthermore, the fact that the Signal chat was also set to delete messages after a certain period, some legal practitioners have argued the Federal Records Act and the Presidential Records Act were potentially violated. While it is debatable which would be best to utilize in a case such as this, 18 U.S. Code § 2071 “Destruction of government records”, 18 U.S. Code § 641 “Public property or records”, and 18 U.S. Code § 1361 “Depredation against government property” all seem to be potentially convincing and successful charges made to a jury, carrying hefty fines and/or jail time.

Finally, with Goldberg’s release of the attack plans, it is possible Ratcliffe and Gabbard could be charged with perjury under 18 U.S. Code § 1621 as their testimony to Congress appears to directly contradict the information the Signal chat contains. While we do not have the complete story about this debacle, knowing what we do about the released chat logs and the public statements, there stands to be made a legal argument for perjury.

In short, this is a Watergate level scandal that, under any other administration would result in firings and resignations, numerous criminal and legislative investigations, a complete revision of security procedures and standards, not to mention immense efforts by the White House to win back the public’s trust. Given this is not a normal administration which is never held accountable though, it is likely Trump will not fire (and certainly not prosecute) any of those involved in this immensely careless security lapse.

From a foreign policy perspective, this damages the relations we have with Europe by Vance and Hegseth’s comments becoming public. From an intelligence perspective, we can’t rule out the possibility that operations and intelligence officers’ names have been exposed to foreign intelligence entities and hostile enemy nations. It further allows these forces to try and penetrate further U.S. government Signal chats which may contain even more sensitive information. Finally, it tells our allies that we cannot be trusted with vital, sensitive security information.

And this is neither the fault of The Atlantic or Goldberg, no matter the arguments Republicans may put up. This is the complete and total failure of Donald Trump’s political appointees and Trump himself. By selecting candidates for their personal loyalty, individuals who have problematic personal and professional backgrounds, and persons who flaunt norms and standards, Trump has fostered a work culture that is not only toxic, but also incompetent. And that makes for a less safe United States.