(José Niño, Headline USA) Republicans who hammered Hillary Clinton for her private email use during her time as Secretary of State may want to take a hard look at National Security Adviser Michael Waltz/
Members of President Donald Trump’s National Security Council — let by Waltz — have reportedly used personal Gmail accounts to conduct official government business, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post and interviews with three U.S. officials.
The use of Gmail, which lacks the security of encrypted platforms like Signal, marks the latest in a series of questionable data security practices by senior national security officials in the Trump administration.
The team was already facing scrutiny following the accidental inclusion of a journalist in a Signal group chat discussing high-level military planning in Yemen.
One of Waltz’s senior aides used a personal Gmail account to engage in technically detailed discussions with other government agencies regarding sensitive military deployments and advanced weapons systems involved in an ongoing conflict.
Email headers reviewed by The Post reportedly reveal that while the aide used Gmail, the other participants relied on official government email accounts.
Officials familiar with the matter said Waltz himself has received less sensitive—but still exploitable—information on his Gmail, including scheduling details and work-related documents.
First Signal, now Gmail: new reporting today revealed that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his staff have been using personal Gmail accounts to conduct government business.
We must protect our national security. Oversight Dems are launching an official investigation. pic.twitter.com/e3djtTsJQ0
— Oversight Committee Democrats (@OversightDems) April 2, 2025
They noted he would at times copy and paste portions of his schedule into Signal to help arrange meetings and coordinate discussions.
In response, NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes said there is no evidence that Waltz used his personal email in the manner described.
He added that when “legacy contacts” have sent him work-related messages, Waltz made sure to copy his official government email to comply with federal recordkeeping laws that mandate the preservation of official correspondence.
“Waltz didn’t and wouldn’t send classified information on an open account,” stated Hughes.
According to a senior administration official, Waltz has also initiated and managed additional Signal group chats with Cabinet members to discuss sensitive matters, including the situation in Somalia and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the existence of these groups on Sunday. Hughes noted that Signal “is approved and in some cases is added automatically to government devices.”
Hughes acknowledged that Signal is not approved for transmitting classified information and emphasized that Waltz has never used it for that purpose.
However, Waltz’s creation of a Signal group chat—where sensitive topics were discussed and which included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic and a vocal critic of President Donald Trump—has sparked backlash.
The inclusion of Goldberg in the chat frustrated several Cabinet members and angered the president, as it exposed internal communications.
Although Trump has publicly stood by Waltz, he privately met on last Wednesday with Vice President JD Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and other senior officials to weigh whether Waltz should remain in his role.
The following day, Trump decided not to dismiss him, reportedly to avoid handing the “liberal media a scalp,” according to a senior administration official.
“This episode significantly weakened Waltz’s standing,” the official said, adding that during the meeting, the national security adviser was told he must show greater deference to Wiles. The New York Times was the first to report the internal meeting that took place last Wednesday.
In the Signal chat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed specific details about the sequencing, timing, and weapons systems involved in the Trump administration’s planned March strike on Houthi militants in Yemen.
Waltz also contributed to the conversation, providing a concise but highly detailed after-action account of the strikes, noting that the military had.. “positive ID” of a senior Houthi leader “walking into his girlfriend’s building.”
This detail, per intelligence sources, later confirmed the use of Israeli surveillance capabilities shared with the United States. Israeli officials were reportedly frustrated that this sensitive intelligence cooperation was publicly disclosed.
FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi have given no indication that Trump officials’ use of Signal for sensitive information will be investigated, with Bondi saying the material shared was not classified.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
