In trying to distract from their alarming incompetence of having Jeff Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, in their Signal group chat about bombing Yemen, top Trump administration officials lied that there were no military secrets divulged to Goldberg.

That collapsed this week when Goldberg published the details of the strikes, proving their lies.

Goldberg was responsible in not spilling the beans as the planes and missiles were being put into combat and continues to be responsible in omitting the name of a CIA officer. The Atlantic showing the screen shots cemented what we already knew to be the case: these officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Vice President JD Vance were indeed discussing not only broader strategy but details around the strikes in this non-government forum.

Donald Trump has made lying — flagrantly, unapologetically, about things big and small, disprovable and ephemeral, at all times and without limitation — such a staple of his political brand that we barely bat an eye anymore at it, from him or his underlings. Not that lying is something that Trump pioneered among politicians — lying goes back to prehistory — but he’s reached a stage where it’s surprising when he goes a full public appearance without bald-faced lies.

Even so, the brazenness here is breathtaking. Of course Hegseth knew that he had in fact been discussing war plans and discussing in detail even as he stood in front of reporters and straightforwardly denied that. Of course Gabbard and Ratcliffe were aware that the details Hegseth shared were classified even as they sat before Congress Tuesday and said that it was not. Pressed again in another hearing Wednesday, after the messages had been released, Gabbard said she simply hadn’t remembered that the operational details had been shared in the group chat.

One of two things is true: Gabbard lied to Congress — under oath, which means this is perjury — or she’s OK with playing fast and loose with details of planned military strikes. In fact, the existence of the Signal group chat itself makes it clear this entire group of officials is fine with putting classified planning information in a forum outside government systems that is also set to be periodically deleted, wiping any record of their decision-making.

Incidentally, this is decision-making that seems to have been happening without much input from the president, whom various officials in the chat were ostensibly attempting to interpret as they expressed their own preferences and denigrated our European allies. Is the president calling the shots? Are a litany of viziers vying to make the decisions as Trump tunes out and golfs? All of this is highly suspect, and it shouldn’t be allowed to just fade away.

As inured as Congress and the public are to the administration’s reflexive and constant lying, we need real answers and real accountability for one of the most serious and dumbest security breaches in recent memory. What else are these principals using Signal for? Are the records preserved? What devices have they been using? And so on. If we don’t get that, the next breach could be measured in lives lost.

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