President Donald Trump’s national security adviser Michael Waltz and his staff have used personal Gmail accounts to conduct government business, a new report released Tuesday reveals, in the latest instance of Waltz seemingly using methods of communication that are unsecured and vulnerable to breaches.
In at least one instance, a senior aide to Waltz used Gmail to discuss “sensitive military positions and powerful weapons systems relating to an ongoing conflict,” according to The Washington Post, which viewed the emails. In other instances, Waltz himself used his personal email to review documents and discuss matters like his work schedule.
Government officials have secure, encrypted services for communications that are less vulnerable to hacking and other cyber attacks. Gmail is not one of those services, and “the contents of a message can be intercepted and read at many points,” Electronic Frontier Foundation cybersecurity director Eva Galperin told The Washington Post.
The news comes after The Atlantic revealed in a bombshell report last week that Waltz had seemingly inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, the publication’s editor in chief, to a group chat on the messaging app Signal that was dedicated to planning and discussing the Trump administration’s strikes in Yemen that killed dozens of civilians.
The news also adds to a growing picture of a seemingly blasé attitude toward secure communications within the office of a U.S. security official. These lax security practices leave the U.S. vulnerable to hacks, while also potentially breaking federal laws regarding archival of federal communications, experts have said.
On Wednesday, Politico reported that Waltz and his team “regularly” use Signal to coordinate issues relating to foreign affairs. This includes issues regarding Gaza, the Middle East, Ukraine, China, Africa, and other places — with sensitive information often shared. Citing four people who have been added to the chats, Politico said that there are at least 20 such chats.
Sources said that the use of Signal isn’t just common with Waltz and his office — it’s effectively standard practice.
“Waltz built the entire NSC communications process on Signal,” one source told Politico.
The Signal chats and Gmail use are just two of at least four other technological security liabilities discovered by journalists since The Atlantic originally broke the Signal story. Waltz and his team have denied wrongdoing.
Wired has reported that Waltz has also seemingly left his Venmo friends list open to the public, showing hundreds of Waltz’s associates — including numerous journalists, military officials and lobbyists, the report said. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has also left his Venmo profile public, The American Prospect reported in February.
Further, German news outlet Der Spiegel found that Waltz, Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s contact details and, in some cases, passwords have been exposed through hacked personal data that has been published online. Most of the numbers and email addresses linked to the officials are still in use on social media and communications platforms, the outlet found.
Democrats are reportedly drawing up articles of impeachment over the Signal chat for Hegseth, Waltz and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who was also in the chat — as the White House is adamant about ensuring that Waltz and others stay in the administration, seemingly to save face.
“The one thing saving [Waltz’s] job is that Trump doesn’t want to give Jeff Goldberg a scalp,” an administration official told The Washington Post.
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