'Lock Her Up'? Now Trump's Team Is Under Fire, and Hillary Won't Shut Up
Hillary Clinton at the Senate Armed Services Committee,2007. Photo courtesy of Chad J. McNeeley. Public domain.
First, it was Hillary's emails. Now, it's the group chat. Hillary Clinton is back in the headlines — but this time, she's the one doing the finger-pointing. Clinton, who spent years being skewered over her own email scandal, now says it's not the "hypocrisy" that stings — it's the "stupidity."
The Signal Leak: What Happened?
Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he had been mistakenly added to a Signal group chat titled "Houthi PC Group" alongside senior Trump officials, as reported by CNBC. The group included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, CIA Director Scott Ratcliff, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
On March 15, Hegseth reportedly texted specific plans about an imminent strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. Goldberg later disclosed the thread "included precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing", CNBC reports — information that turned into real action within hours.
Clinton Fires Back
In an op-ed for The New York Times, Clinton lambasted the Trump administration's handling of the leak. She said the real danger wasn't just about mishandled information — it was about endangering troops and eroding national security.
"It's not the hypocrisy that bothers me; it's the stupidity," Clinton wrote, as reported by POLITICO. She added that Signal isn't secure enough for real-time war planning — especially not when a journalist is mistakenly included.
Clinton also highlighted a broader concern: the administration's ongoing dismantling of global diplomacy and its mass firings. "The Trump approach is dumb power," she wrote, according to POLITICO. "Instead of a strong America using all our strengths to lead the world and confront our adversaries, Mr. Trump's America will be increasingly blind and blundering, feeble and friendless," Clinton said.
A Tale of Two Scandals
Rewind to 2016, when Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of state under President Obama became political dynamite. Trump seized on it in rally after rally.
At one 2016 event, Trump declared, "Hillary is the one who sent and received classified information on an insecure server, putting the safety of the American people under threat," as reported by CNBC.
Hegseth, now the one caught texting war plans, previously said that any government worker who acted like Clinton should be fired or prosecuted on the spot. In an interview with Fox News, Hegseth said, "Any security professional — military, government or otherwise — would be fired on the spot for this type of conduct and criminally prosecuted for being so reckless with this kind of information," according to CNBC.
Mike Waltz, who was also part of the Signal thread, tweeted in June 2023: "How is it Hillary Clinton can delete 33,000 government emails on a private server yet President Trump gets indicted for having documents he could declassify," CNBC reports.
Glass Houses and Group Chats
The Trump administration has dismissed Clinton's criticisms. White House spokesperson Harrison Field responded simply: "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones," according to CNBC.
But Democrats in Congress are not laughing. Senator Mark Kelly called for Hegseth's resignation, saying, "This is the kind of thing that gets people killed," as reported by CNBC.
A new YouGov poll shows Americans aren't brushing this off either. About 75% of U.S. adults said the Trump Signal scandal is "very" or "somewhat" serious. That includes a third of Republicans. By contrast, in 2015 only 30% called Clinton's emails "very serious" — a number that rose to 41% by 2022.
A Media Divide, a Public Watching
Republicans have largely dismissed the Signal group chat as a non-issue. Trump allies say the messages weren't classified, despite their connection to real-time military operations.
But many Americans feel the media isn't doing enough. According to the same YouGov poll, 37% of respondents said the press is "not making enough of a big deal" about the Signal leak. Only 22% said the opposite.
This divide is nothing new. Democrats have long called out Trump for downplaying national security risks, while Republicans argue Clinton got a free pass.
She Said, He Said
It's political deja vu. Clinton faced multiple investigations but was never charged.
Now, top Trump officials are under scrutiny for revealing military secrets in a group chat that included a journalist. And the person who once demanded Clinton be locked up? He's at the center of it.
What hasn't changed is the endless blame game. What has changed is who's holding the receipts.
References: Hillary Clinton blasts Trump, officials over Signal text mess: 'Stupidity' and 'hypocrisy' | 'It's just dumb': Hillary Clinton slams Trump administration on Signalgate | Is Trump's group chat worse than Hillary Clinton's emails? Poll shows how Americans compare scandals
