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Disappointed to see that even Wired is falling into the frame of the scandal being the accidental inclusion of a member of the public in a sensitive chat. Once

Disappointed to see that even Wired is falling into the frame of the scandal being the accidental inclusion of a member of the public in a sensitive chat. Once again, Wired, the scandal is that the VP and the members of the cabinet are categorically forbidden from using Signal for any reason.

alabastervlog 2y ago
AFAIK they can use it for stuff they're not legally required to keep records on. ... which very much does not include most of the contents of the exchanges in question.
- jeffbee 2y ago
  There is literally nothing that can transpire between the VP and the SecDef that would not be subject to the PRA.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
lenerdenator 2y ago
If I didn't know any better, I'd say these people were acting like they were picked by a convicted felon who acts like he's above the law, mainly because his experience tells him that he is.
- mywittyname 2y ago
  > his experience tells him that he is. Well, also the entire government said as much, including the the AG, whose belief is a sitting President can't be indicted, and SCOTUS, who claims basically, that the President can't engage in illegal acts. The only theoretical mechanism left is impeachment, but if the impossible happens and Congress does vote to remove, the administration will ignore it, or have SCOTUS rule against it. It just depends on how above board they care to pretend to make it look.
  - 9dev 2y ago
    It’s almost funny how the land with no kings nor lords gleefully bows to their new, self-proclaimed king now.
    - lenerdenator 2y ago
      Eh, some of it does. The other portion either finds him annoying or despises him with an ire that few outside the US can comprehend.
otterley 2y ago
Can't it be both?
rqtwteye 2y ago
All the inconvenient rules that make the low level employees less efficient don't apply to the upper ranks. That allows them to complain about their employees.
whatshisface 2y ago
The other, other scandal is that they collapsed a building on many innocent people in the process. This action comes at a high price both morally and in terms of ensuring the legitimacy of the enemy among the civilian population. A similar gross error / crime was committed at the beginning of the war in Somalia, and was in the view of some the single action that contributed the most to US ground forces being pulled into the conflict. In that case, a missile was fired into a meeting room where tribal leaders were conferring.
- wat10000 2y ago
  Unfortunately, that’s not a scandal. It’s business as usual and generally considered acceptable.
tptacek 2y ago
They are?
chasd00 2y ago
If the president can declassify any information then can he just say "using signal is ok" and that's that?
9dev 2y ago
I’m not sure why you think that is a scandal; isn’t it a good thing that civil servants and members of the government are supposed to use government-controlled communications channels with proper access control, encryption, and retention in place? Why should they rely on a third-Party, commercial provider, and why on earth is it a scandal that they are forbidden from doing so..?

alabastervlog 2y ago

AFAIK they can use it for stuff they're not legally required to keep records on. ... which very much does not include most of the contents of the exchanges in question.

jeffbee 2y ago
There is literally nothing that can transpire between the VP and the SecDef that would not be subject to the PRA.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

lenerdenator 2y ago

If I didn't know any better, I'd say these people were acting like they were picked by a convicted felon who acts like he's above the law, mainly because his experience tells him that he is.

mywittyname 2y ago
> his experience tells him that he is. Well, also the entire government said as much, including the the AG, whose belief is a sitting President can't be indicted, and SCOTUS, who claims basically, that the President can't engage in illegal acts. The only theoretical mechanism left is impeachment, but if the impossible happens and Congress does vote to remove, the administration will ignore it, or have SCOTUS rule against it. It just depends on how above board they care to pretend to make it look.
- 9dev 2y ago
  It’s almost funny how the land with no kings nor lords gleefully bows to their new, self-proclaimed king now.
  - lenerdenator 2y ago
    Eh, some of it does. The other portion either finds him annoying or despises him with an ire that few outside the US can comprehend.

otterley 2y ago

Can't it be both?

rqtwteye 2y ago

All the inconvenient rules that make the low level employees less efficient don't apply to the upper ranks. That allows them to complain about their employees.

whatshisface 2y ago

The other, other scandal is that they collapsed a building on many innocent people in the process. This action comes at a high price both morally and in terms of ensuring the legitimacy of the enemy among the civilian population. A similar gross error / crime was committed at the beginning of the war in Somalia, and was in the view of some the single action that contributed the most to US ground forces being pulled into the conflict. In that case, a missile was fired into a meeting room where tribal leaders were conferring.

wat10000 2y ago
Unfortunately, that’s not a scandal. It’s business as usual and generally considered acceptable.

tptacek 2y ago

They are?

chasd00 2y ago

If the president can declassify any information then can he just say "using signal is ok" and that's that?

9dev 2y ago

I’m not sure why you think that is a scandal; isn’t it a good thing that civil servants and members of the government are supposed to use government-controlled communications channels with proper access control, encryption, and retention in place? Why should they rely on a third-Party, commercial provider, and why on earth is it a scandal that they are forbidden from doing so..?