Isn't it remarkable that the "Jimmy did it too" excuse no mother would ever tolerate when we were kids is the accepted adult walk away line with no consequences?
And Goldberg "in" isn't even the first issue -- it's Hegseth cavalierly reiterating war plans in some detail on a cell phone to many, who were located in various places. Military have strict standards on this, and it's punishable, beyond a doubt. So, he gets a 'pass' on this? UNQUALIFIED beyond a doubt! Double-standards here.
The really stupid thing about this particular case is if they want to story to die, all they have to do is say, "Look, we screwed up. The operation was successful, no harm, no foul, we'll do better next time." ANYTHING beyond that, such as trying to blame the journalist, trying to blame Democrats, bringing up the Afghanistan withdrawal, etc... is just nonsense that keeps the story, the scandal, and the embarrassment going. You'd think politicians would have figured this out by now - the cover up is almost always worse than the crime.
Lecture the media to do its job and hold every politician accountable 100% of the time and to stop providing cover when politicians they like screw up.
Cavalier conduct should be punishable- not an Oops!, but we got the job done, let's move on folks. They all need an updated cognitive exam, as each one claims they can't recall the details, only the gist. Hmmm, BS! The military top brass must be banging their heads on the wall over this clusterfu-k! A few unqualified are scarey the crap out of all of us. Bet it wasn't the first blunder.
Oh I know the GOP's behavior mirrors that of the Dems behavior and I don't agree with everything the Trump Administration does. Like appointing unqualified Pete Hegseth as Sec. of Defense. On the app, Signal, you can see all the other users on any users cell phone. Any Narional Security PROFESSIONAL would have picked another meeting venue, even if it meant meeting in person. Probably the best way to do it.
The national GOP leaves open a wide and fertile field for the Dems. Barring the unforeseen - including that that the Trump Administration gets its act together - the Dems ought to retake the House by miles, retake the Senate and, in 2028, win the presidency. If this doesn't happen, then the Dems should be imprisoned for stupidity.
"I argued then, and have argued in the years since, that Clinton should have been prosecuted.
"But she wasn’t. From a legal perspective, she was entirely let off the hook."
You ought to read James Stewart's "Deep State." Stewart is an investigative journalist and a lawyer. He is nonpartisan, although the "work the ref" crew on both sides might disagree. Stewart details the legal research and discussions lawyers in the DOJ did on the statute pertinent statute. They all concluded that then Sec. Clinton's case was unprosecutable because, based on the case law regarding this statute and even though her conduct appears to violate the statute, she didn't deliberately hand over classified info or documents to someone unauthorized.
Not all unacceptable behavior is criminal. Your argument is that the statute in question should be modified to make clear that negligent conduct is prosecutable.
Although she wasn't prosecuted, but for this scandal Hillary undoubtedly would have been elected pres. in 2016 - i.e. there would be no press conference in July of 2016 by then FBI Dir. Comey and, more importantly, there's be no torpedo rocking the Clinton campaign sent by Comey and then Special Agent Peter Strzok ten days before the election..
I'm pretty sure it's already a crime to disseminate classified information on unapproved networks. Not only because it's a security breach, and the consequences of that can cause grave danger to the USA, but also because it circumvents official record keeping requirements mandated by the government and thus avoids transparency and accountability on official decision making.
If it's not illegal or prosecutable to conduct business outside of trusted platforms then the system is broken. If you can't trust the government to do the right thing, then what signal (pun intended) does that send to the broader populace?
It's basically the same tactics that organised crime (Mafia) use so they can create plausible deniability 'Eyyyy, it wasn't us!'
Apparently, it wouldn't be illegal per se under the statute under which the national GOP wanted to prosecute Sec. Clinton. Maybe there's another statute. As then FBI Dir. Comey said at his infamous press conference, if Hillary was a federal employee at the time, she may well have been fired.
The Keystone Cops are making matters worse. I think it was Bill Clinton advisor Paul Begala who wrote a book titled something like "Tell it All, Tell it Early, Tell it Yourself." It's amazing how these politicians let their siege mentality override their reason.
Isn't it remarkable that the "Jimmy did it too" excuse no mother would ever tolerate when we were kids is the accepted adult walk away line with no consequences?
Bingo.
Fantastic commentary.
Thanks!
And Goldberg "in" isn't even the first issue -- it's Hegseth cavalierly reiterating war plans in some detail on a cell phone to many, who were located in various places. Military have strict standards on this, and it's punishable, beyond a doubt. So, he gets a 'pass' on this? UNQUALIFIED beyond a doubt! Double-standards here.
The really stupid thing about this particular case is if they want to story to die, all they have to do is say, "Look, we screwed up. The operation was successful, no harm, no foul, we'll do better next time." ANYTHING beyond that, such as trying to blame the journalist, trying to blame Democrats, bringing up the Afghanistan withdrawal, etc... is just nonsense that keeps the story, the scandal, and the embarrassment going. You'd think politicians would have figured this out by now - the cover up is almost always worse than the crime.
I found it amusing that, on his show last night, Bill O'Reilly came close to implying that Goldberg weaseled his way on the group chat.
Update: On his most recent show, Mr. O'Reilly posed the questions "who let Goldberg in?" and "who allowed Goldberg in?" What a Schill!
I'm still seeing prominent right-wing commentators ask that question. We knew exactly who added Goldberg when his piece was published.
Their focus is on the wrong individual, it's Hegseth and his sloppy, braggy big mouth! Unprofessional.
Exactamente! Mr. Goldberg was invited in.
Invited in inadvertently.
Lecture the media to do its job and hold every politician accountable 100% of the time and to stop providing cover when politicians they like screw up.
Cavalier conduct should be punishable- not an Oops!, but we got the job done, let's move on folks. They all need an updated cognitive exam, as each one claims they can't recall the details, only the gist. Hmmm, BS! The military top brass must be banging their heads on the wall over this clusterfu-k! A few unqualified are scarey the crap out of all of us. Bet it wasn't the first blunder.
Oh I know the GOP's behavior mirrors that of the Dems behavior and I don't agree with everything the Trump Administration does. Like appointing unqualified Pete Hegseth as Sec. of Defense. On the app, Signal, you can see all the other users on any users cell phone. Any Narional Security PROFESSIONAL would have picked another meeting venue, even if it meant meeting in person. Probably the best way to do it.
The national GOP leaves open a wide and fertile field for the Dems. Barring the unforeseen - including that that the Trump Administration gets its act together - the Dems ought to retake the House by miles, retake the Senate and, in 2028, win the presidency. If this doesn't happen, then the Dems should be imprisoned for stupidity.
"I argued then, and have argued in the years since, that Clinton should have been prosecuted.
"But she wasn’t. From a legal perspective, she was entirely let off the hook."
You ought to read James Stewart's "Deep State." Stewart is an investigative journalist and a lawyer. He is nonpartisan, although the "work the ref" crew on both sides might disagree. Stewart details the legal research and discussions lawyers in the DOJ did on the statute pertinent statute. They all concluded that then Sec. Clinton's case was unprosecutable because, based on the case law regarding this statute and even though her conduct appears to violate the statute, she didn't deliberately hand over classified info or documents to someone unauthorized.
Not all unacceptable behavior is criminal. Your argument is that the statute in question should be modified to make clear that negligent conduct is prosecutable.
Although she wasn't prosecuted, but for this scandal Hillary undoubtedly would have been elected pres. in 2016 - i.e. there would be no press conference in July of 2016 by then FBI Dir. Comey and, more importantly, there's be no torpedo rocking the Clinton campaign sent by Comey and then Special Agent Peter Strzok ten days before the election..
I'm pretty sure it's already a crime to disseminate classified information on unapproved networks. Not only because it's a security breach, and the consequences of that can cause grave danger to the USA, but also because it circumvents official record keeping requirements mandated by the government and thus avoids transparency and accountability on official decision making.
If it's not illegal or prosecutable to conduct business outside of trusted platforms then the system is broken. If you can't trust the government to do the right thing, then what signal (pun intended) does that send to the broader populace?
It's basically the same tactics that organised crime (Mafia) use so they can create plausible deniability 'Eyyyy, it wasn't us!'
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/27/stephanie-foster-signal-australian-home-affairs-secretary-trump-scandal
Apparently, it wouldn't be illegal per se under the statute under which the national GOP wanted to prosecute Sec. Clinton. Maybe there's another statute. As then FBI Dir. Comey said at his infamous press conference, if Hillary was a federal employee at the time, she may well have been fired.
The Keystone Cops are making matters worse. I think it was Bill Clinton advisor Paul Begala who wrote a book titled something like "Tell it All, Tell it Early, Tell it Yourself." It's amazing how these politicians let their siege mentality override their reason.