The Washington Examiner’s Byron York weighed in on the Signal chat scandal during a radio interview on Wednesday, suggesting that Goldberg could have identified himself and alerted the White House regarding his access to the conversation.
The scandal revolves around a group chat involving high-level Trump administration officials, which was accidentally accessed by the Atlantic‘s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.
York’s breakdown provided clarity on the central issues of the controversy and he offered his own analysis of the situation, focused on three key questions: the appropriateness of using Signal for sensitive discussions, whether classified information was mishandled, and how Goldberg ended up in the chat.
Regarding the first issue, York suggested that the appropriateness of using Signal may be less significant than it seems.
York questioned how Goldberg ended up in the chat. He pointed out that the Atlantic has long been a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump, raising questions about how an editor of a publication that has been critical of the Trump administration found himself in a private chat among high-level officials.
“The Atlantic is a leading magazine of the resistance,” York remarked on the Washington-based WMAL radio station, highlighting the political context. “As an institution, the Atlantic hates Donald Trump and it wants him to fail.”
Goldberg has claimed that the chat discussed “war plans,” including specific targeting details related to a U.S. operation against the Houthis in Yemen, contradicting statements from defense officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who asserted that no war plans were shared. York noted the conflict between the two sides, emphasizing the lack of clarity on the matter and acknowledging that further investigation is needed.
York also touched on a detail regarding a reference in the chat to moving to a more secure communication platform, “High Side.” This term refers to a more secure, government-approved communication system used for classified information. York explained that while Signal provides encrypted communication, it is not on the same level as the government’s secure channels, which suggests the participants were aware of the sensitivity of the information being discussed.
The ethical dilemma of how a journalist like Goldberg should have responded to the accidental invitation to the chat was another focal point. York noted that Goldberg initially thought the invitation was a spoof or fake and only became convinced that it was real after the military action in Yemen occurred. York offered his own perspective, saying that, had it happened to him, he assessed the information and would have eventually alerted the White House or taken other steps.
BYRON YORK: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SIGNAL MESS
“After it happened, I might identify myself. Now, he took the opportunity to write a big magazine piece. I mean, he could have actually just gotten in contact with the White House, saying, ‘You may not know me or maybe you do, but I’m the editor in chief of the Atlantic Monthly and this just happened.’ He could have said that too,” York said on Wednesday.
York concluded by emphasizing that the situation remains murky, with no clear answers yet about why Goldberg would have been in touch with White House staff.