Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Wesley Clark thinks the latest President Donald Trump administration scandal around a Signal messaging group discussing possible classified information is "payback."
A bombshell report in The Atlantic claimed that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared secret war plans in a Signal chat that included a reporter among its membership. The story reveals a Signal chat among top officials in President Donald Trump's Cabinet who discussed classified military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.
A number of Trump officials testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, where Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) called for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's resignation.
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Clark spoke to CNN's Wolf Blitzer after the moment, calling it a "partisan business."
"Let's face it, what it is, this is partisanship. It's payback. The Republican Party got all over Hillary Clinton for emails, and now the Democrats are coming back," said Clark.
Clinton used a private email server for government emails, and House Republicans spent months before the 2016 election probing details and emails.
While Clark called it "payback," he also acknowledged that "a serious mistake was made. Signal shouldn't be used."
"The general said there — he dodged the question," Clark noted, speaking of the intelligence committee hearing. General Timothy D. Haugh and Lieutenant General Jeffrey A. Kruse were both testifying on Wednesday. Clark thinks that they should have accepted responsibility for the mistake.
"You don't discuss classified information on Signal. He should know that," Clark said of Kruse. "He should also know the appearances of these former soviet weapons systems. That's basic information that every officer should learn at a major level. And you've got to keep up with them and do your homework. And, so, I was a little disappointed in that, but i thought Congressman Crow made a great, strong statement about accountability. We're going to have to see what the administration does. I think it would be an important milestone if people are held accountable, but maybe it's something other than being forced out of office."
See his full comments below or at the link here.
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