"Team Kremlin" and "Liars": Tirade at Hearing – Trump in Distress After Signal Scandal

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger "Team Kremlin" and "Liars": Tirade at Hearing – Trump in Distress After Signal Scandal David Schmitz • 4 hours • 4 minutes read US President Donald Trump's tone is becoming harsher – and not just in relation to the Signal scandal. Sensitive data about a US military attack was shared, while a journalist accidentally invited to the chat group was able to read along. The concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Trump and his delegation have repeatedly made in recent weeks, are now also being clearly discussed in the US. The current focus, however, is on "Signal Gate" – the security leak in a Trump cabinet chat group continues to lead to calls for the resignation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He had posted details about a US attack on the Houthi militia in Yemen there. Signal Scandal: Democrats Demand Pete Hegseth's Resignation Democratic Senator Mark Warner accused Trump's high-ranking staff of "sloppy, careless, and incompetent behavior" in light of the scandal. He also expressed concern about the US relationship with its allies. In light of the US government's recklessness, the trust of Washington's allies is "losing overnight," Warner criticized. "Senior government officials" are "dragging Europe through the mud," Warner said, referring to remarks by US Vice President J.D. Vance and Hegseth in the chat group. Both had made derogatory comments about Europe. "The Secretary of Defense should be fired immediately if he isn't man enough to own up to his mistakes," House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told MSNBC. Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth went even further, calling on Trump to fire all government officials involved in the conversation. Pentagon chief Hegseth called her a "liar" who could have caused the "death of our pilots." Meanwhile, Donald Trump spoke of a "witch hunt" at a press conference and attempted to downplay what Pentagon sources described as a significant security breach. The US president caused some irritation by casting doubt on whether Defense Secretary Hegseth played any role in the scandal. Donald Trump, irritated: "How can you implicate Hegseth?" "Hegseth is doing a great job. He had nothing to do with it. How can you implicate Hegseth?" Trump asked a reporter in the Oval Office. "He had nothing to do with it. Look, this is all a witch hunt... I think Signal, to be honest, may be flawed," Trump added. Meanwhile, Democratic Representative Jim Himes had nothing good to say about Trump and his cabinet during a Senate hearing with US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The two were also part of the Signal chat. Himes not only targeted the current scandal, but also sharply criticized Trump's approach to dealing with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Russia's war against Ukraine. "It's a mercy of God that we don't mourn dead pilots." "Everyone here knows that the Russians or the Chinese could have obtained and shared all this information, and they could have easily repositioned their weapons, changed their plans, and shot down planes or sunk ships," Himes said, clearly angered, at the hearing. "I think it's a mercy of God that we don't have to mourn dead pilots right now," the Democrat added. He also criticized Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, for still being in the group while traveling to Moscow for talks with Putin. Witkoff denies this allegation, saying he did not bring the device with Signal to Moscow, the special envoy explained. "As far as I can tell, we are now on Team Kremlin." But Himes couldn't stop him: "As far as I can tell, we are now on Team Kremlin," the Democrat ranted. "We are voting with him and against our allies at the United Nations. We are humiliating President Zelensky in the Oval Office. The president's chief negotiator for Russia, Steve Witkoff, is repeating Russian arguments and participating in a crazy Signal chat about Yemen, while in Russia, USAID has disappeared," Himes continued his furious speech. The Trump administration has almost completely shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and thousands of employees have been laid off. The agency has supported humanitarian and democracy-promoting projects around the world. China or "terrorists" would now fill this gap, the Democrat warned the CIA director and the intelligence chief—and finally continued his tirade. "Elon Musk fired the people who maintain our nuclear weapons. Does that feel like a threat to you? Apparently, this whole mess is being cheered on by the president and people in their twenties with laptops and nicknames like 'Big Balls,'" Himes said, referring to the well-known pseudonym of a Musk employee. Tulsi Gabbard admits "mistakes" but denies confidential content "But I've been doing this for a long time, and I know Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang can't believe their luck," the congressman finally concluded. Gabbard responded with a tight lip, but admitted that it was a "mistake" that "The Atlantic" editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg had been able to read it. Like Hegseth and Vice President Vance before him, Gabbard denied that the contents of the chat were confidential. Their publication would have given the Houthi militia enough time to prepare for the impending attacks.