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Comment by chasil

8 months ago

Assuming this to be true, this conversation is over.

"The Biden administration installed the Signal messaging app on CIA computers and approved it for official government use."

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/03/25/has-the-staffer...

19 comments

chasil

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bb88  8 months ago

It looks like it was approved only for CIA use with permissible use. Even though it was installed, did not mean it was suitable for all communications.

Here's the important relevant quote:

    "It is permissible to use to communicate and coordinate
     for work purposes. Provided that any decisions that are 
     made are also recorded through formal channels. So 
     those were procedures that were implemented. My staff 
     implemented those processes," Ratcliffe said.

    "My communications, to be clear, in a Signal message 
     group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not 
     include classified information," he added.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/cia-director-john-ratcliffe-defen...

  • sorcerer-mar  8 months ago

    It's reasonable /u/chasil doesn't know this, but obviously there's no chance that Ratcliffe doesn't know this. Really makes one think!

    "My communications weren't classified" — my is doing some work there.

    • bb88  8 months ago

      The classified community is one built on trust -- fundamentally that you won't leak information to others, perceived enemies or otherwise. This extends to elected or appointed officials and federal judges ruling on classified matters.

      But honestly most of the people in the group will be loyal to the US regardless of leader's political affiliation.

      But what they do ask is that classified information remain secret -- particularly if you're in harms way.

    • somenameforme  8 months ago

      There's also the temporal issue. Communications are classified, or not, after their creation. So we might add:

      'My communications weren't classified at the time I made them.'

      1 reply →

flyingcircus3  8 months ago

I think that there is a parallel story to this one that is equally as interesting. There is one group of consumers of this story who see the receipts provided by Jeffery Goldberg, along with confirmation of their authenticity from a spokesperson at the National Security Council, followed by admissions by cabinet member participants of the Signal chat in hearings before congress, and those consumers of all this news can only conclude that the evidence is about as conclusive as you can get that Jeffery Goldberg is telling the truth, that these people are sharing the names of active intelligence officers, and describing imminent plans of action of the US military.

Then there is another group of consumers of this story, with the same access to all of the same evidence, and all of the same first person confirmations, who confidently declare the argument that this might be illegal null and void because Joe Biden allowed the CIA to use signal, and are persuaded away from accepting all of that evidence by articles with that contain such gems as "what the media wont tell you about the Atlantic hit piece", "Democrats talking points on this story quickly unraveled", and "help us continue to expose the lefts desperate attempts to manufacture scandals".

How can propaganda be so effective that people lose the skill of object permanence?

  • chasil  8 months ago

    I have little doubt that Jeffery Goldberg is telling the truth.

    So, was he added to the conversation inadvertently, or was it deliberate?

    On the question of whether the use of the application was negligent, well, that is now moot.

    • rcpt  8 months ago

      There is just no way this is deliberate. They have nothing to gain from this.

      We need to stop thinking these guys are playing 3D chess when they try to shove the pieces up their nose

      2 replies →

    • bb88  8 months ago

      Well the FBI investigated it already -- even though the Hillary Clinton investigation took years -- and said there would not be charges brought.

      It's a win on government efficiency I guess (no more year long investigations). But also, this is clearly not the first time they used Signal, and it won't be the last.

    • flyingcircus3  8 months ago

      Just to clarify on what is moot, you are claiming that sharing classified, perhaps TS/SCI information, over signal, as well as deleting the messages, which are both illegal when isolated from any specific communication method, has all been blessed as above board and legal, simply because Joe Biden allowed Signal usage at the CIA?

      Couldn't every whistleblower and double agent from now on just make sure to do their leaking over signal, and therefore receive the magical immunity your logic claims signal usage provides?

      4 replies →

  • 20after4  8 months ago

    There is also a large group who think it's a nothing burger and that Goldberg is simply lying or exaggerating about the nature and seriousness of the messages that were omitted from the reporting.