WH Comms Dir. Dismisses 'Signal Hoax' as 'Witch Hunt'

The White House on Tuesday pushed back on criticism of the administration over the handling of military messages after a journalist was mistakenly included in a group chat in which high-ranking government officials discussed potential military actions.

In a social media post on Tuesday, White House communications director Steven Cheung dismissed the controversy about the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic being accidentally added to a group chat using the messaging application Signal involving multiple Cabinet members and other top-ranking Trump administration officials during discussions about military operations in Yemen.

"The Atlantic story is nothing more than a section of the NatSec establishment community running the same tired gameplay from years past," Cheung wrote.

"From the 'Russia, Russia, Russia' hoax of the first term to the fake documents case of the last four years … at every turn, anti-[President Donald] Trump forces have tried to weaponize innocuous actions and turn them into faux outrage that Fake News outlets can use to peddle misinformation. Don't let enemies of America get away with these lies."

Cheung later posted, "'Russia, Russia, Russia' hoax led to a witch hunt. Documents hoax led to a witch hunt. Signal hoax outrage … a witch hunt."

• Atlantic Editor Erroneously Added to WH War Plans Group Chat
• Majority Leader Expects Trump Officials' Use of Signal to Be Looked Into