Global News Podcast
Trump and intelligence chiefs play down Signal app group chat leak
Wed, 26 Mar 2025
Donald Trump says the White House will "look into" the use of messaging app Signal after a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to a group chat discussing air strikes on Yemen. Also: is there life on Mars? Maybe!
Chapter 1: What is the focus of this episode about Trump and Signal app?
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Jackie Leonard and in the early hours of Wednesday the 26th of March, these are our main stories. Donald Trump says there'll be an investigation into how a journalist was invited onto a messaging group where he saw plans for US airstrikes in Yemen, but the president has defended his team.
Hundreds of people in northern Gaza have staged a protest against Hamas, the biggest since the war there began. And the White House says Russia and Ukraine have agreed to stop targeting shipping in the Black Sea, but Moscow has insisted on further conditions before it implements any deal. Also in this podcast, and I may have asked this question before, is there life on Mars?
The rover found there were some compounds in this particular rock. And this is really exciting because these compounds haven't been found on Mars before.
Chapter 2: Why did Trump defend his team regarding the Signal app group chat leak?
Präsident Trump sagt, es wird eine Investition in die Frage kommen, wie ein Journalist auf eine Messungsgruppe eingeladen wurde, in der hohe Offiziere über einen US-Militär-Attack auf Houthis in Jemen diskutiert haben. Er hat auch gesagt, seine Administration würde einen Blick auf das Messungssystem-Signal selbst nehmen.
Aber Mr. Trump hat die Offiziere eingeladen, insbesondere der Nationalen Sicherheitsanwalt Mike Waltz, der den Journalisten Jeffrey Goldberg von The Atlantic Magazine in die Gruppe-Konversation eingeladen hat.
Chapter 3: What was the reaction of US intelligence chiefs to the Signal app incident?
Wir haben eine großartige Gruppe. Unsere nationale Sicherheit ist jetzt stärker als jemals. Es gab keine klassifizierte Information, wie ich es verstehe. Sie haben eine App benutzt, wenn Sie es so nennen wollen, die viele Leute benutzen. Viele Leute in der Regierung benutzen sie, viele Leute in den Medien benutzen sie.
Earlier, the CIA director and the head of US National Intelligence told a Senate committee that no war details or identities of undercover officers were disclosed. At times, the exchanges in the committee hearing were very heated. This is the Democrat Senator John Ossoff questioning John Ratcliffe, the CIA director.
Director Ratcliffe, this was a huge mistake, correct? No. A national political reporter was made privy to sensitive information about imminent military operations against a foreign terrorist organization.
And that wasn't a huge mistake? That wasn't a huge mistake?
This is an embarrassment. This is utterly unprofessional. There's been no apology. There has been no recognition of the gravity of this error. And by the way, we will get the full transcript of this chain and your testimony will be measured carefully against its content.
Senator Mark Warner questioned Tulsi Gabbard, the director of U.S. National Intelligence, if she had taken part in the Signal chat group.
Did you participate in the group chat with Secretary of Defense and other Trump senior officials discussing the Yemen war plans? Senator, I don't want to get into the specifics.
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Chapter 4: How is the White House handling the Signal app controversy?
Ma'am, were you on?
You're not going to be willing to address. So you're not, are you denying? Ma'am, will you answer my question, ma'am? You were not TG on this group chat? I'm not going to get into the specifics. So you refuse to acknowledge whether you are on this group chat? Senator, I'm not going to get into the specifics. Why are you going to get into the specifics? Is it because it's all classified?
Because this is currently under review by the National Security Council. Because it's all classified? If it's not classified, share the text now.
Our North America correspondent Nomia Iqbal, who is in the US Capitol building, gave this assessment of the White House reaction to the messaging app incident.
The White House is very keen to play it down. You've got President Trump saying that this was a glitch and as far as he's concerned that that's the end of it. He is standing by his team. You've also got his White House Communications Director, who is...
Es ist ziemlich hart, wenn es um das, wie wir Steven Chung fühlen, kritisieren, dass die Kritiker nach Präsident Trump gehen, um seine Präsidentschaft zu bringen. Aber interessanterweise scheint es hier eine Art Splitter zu sein, weil du den SED-Majoritätsleiter John Thune hast, der eröffnet wurde. He said that the messages are inappropriate, by the way.
And he's also said that the Armed Services Committee may want to have some folks testify and have some questions answered as well. So it doesn't seem to be the end of it.
That was Nomia Iqbal in Washington. So why is it a problem if the US administration's plans for Yemen strikes were shared on Signal and how is the messaging app normally used? Joe Inwood spoke to the BBC's technology reporter Graham Fraser and first asked him to explain more about Signal.
Was ist WhatsApp? Was ist WhatsApp?
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Chapter 5: Why is the US Vice President visiting Greenland?
And, you know, they are clearly feeling the pressure. So if they think the Second Lady and a couple of cabinet members are an aggressive move, then adding the VP to that mix doesn't really diminish that.
No.
Not as far as we know. And in many senses, I don't know the details of the agreement that the US has over that particular base, but it's not unusual for members of the administration to visit bases. But the wider context of this is clear, and it's that the US would like... for two reasons, more access to Greenland.
One is its natural resources, but also Greenland has been and is hugely strategic in its position. It's in the mid-Atlantic, it's on the edge of the Arctic Circle. We know that the Arctic is increasingly a place of great power politics for various reasons. So there are all sorts of reasons why geopolitically Greenland is of interest to all sorts of people.
And that's why you're seeing all this attention paid to it at the moment.
Gary O'Donoghue. In der Zwischenzeit hat Israel das so genannte Kriegsbudget von 170 Billionen Dollar übernommen, das größte in ihrer Geschichte. Unser Südostasischer Regionalredakteur Sebastian Ascher ist in Jerusalem und er begann mit dem Anti-Hamas-Protest.
Es gab hunderts von jungen Palästinensern auf den Straßen in Nordgas und Beit Lahir. Und unter den Chancen sind Al-Talt, Hamas, sie wollen den Fall von Hamas. Es ist das erste Mal, dass es einen Protest von diesem Niveau von Menschen auf den Straßen seit dem Oktober 7. Angriff und der folgenden Krieg in Gaza gibt. Also es ist signifikant in diesem Sinne.
Ich meine, unter ihren Chancen waren auch Anrufe nach Frieden, Es gibt keine Anreize, die Palästinenser aus Gaza zu bringen. Es war nicht nur über Hamas, aber es gab auch diese sehr starken Antihamas-Elemente. Es gab eine Unterdrückung von dieser Angst, dieser Zufriedenheit mit Hamas, die in den letzten Monaten wächst. Und jetzt sehen wir es auf den Straßen. Es gab eine Anreize von Hamas.
Es gibt einen kleinen Anti-Hamas-Grupp, um diese Proteste in den kommenden Tagen zu verbreiten. Wir werden sehen, was mit dem passiert. Diese Proteste wurden, es scheint, ziemlich präzise von Masken-Männern verspürt. Ich denke, es wurde präzise von... Der Zerstörung ist jetzt vorbei. Israel hat seine Attacks auf Gaza resümiert. Mehr als 700 Menschen wurden in der letzten Woche getötet.
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Chapter 6: What are the latest developments in Israeli budget and protests?
Das könnte ein bisschen Zeit dauern und vielleicht nicht ganz in den Geschenken der USA sein. Der Kremlin hat auch gesagt, dass der 30-Tage-Pause auf Energie-Strikes zu Beginn des 18. März zurückgelegt werden würde und könnte verabschiedet werden, wenn eine Seite den Deal verweigert.
In anderen Worten, was verabschiedet worden ist, ist ein fragiles Schritt in Richtung einer Diminution der Kämpfe in der Ukraine. but with no guarantee of success amid an atmosphere of mutual distrust. Even if today's agreement were to survive, it's still a long way from the comprehensive countrywide ceasefire the US originally wanted.
That was James Landale in Ukraine. And just to remind you that we're getting together again with our friends at BBC Ukrainecast on Friday the 4th of April and we'd like you to be part of it. Send your questions about what's happening to globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk and if possible, please record your question as a voice note. To southern Denmark now, where a giant tunnel is under construction.
It will link Denmark to Germany, with cars and trains able to travel under the Baltic Sea. The project is currently Europe's largest construction site. It will be the world's longest prefabricated road and rail tunnel and is costing more than 7.5 billion dollars. Adrienne Murray went to see it being built.
It's on a scale that's hard to take in. The size of 600 football pitches, this colossal construction site, is where a record-breaking tunnel is being built, linking Denmark to Germany. Inside three enormous halls, tunnel segments, each more than 200 meters long, are molded from steel and concrete. Und mich zu zeigen ist Henrik Vintensen, der CEO von Tunnel-Operator Femmeln.
Es ist nicht nur in Dänemark und Deutschland verbunden, es ist auch in Skandinavien und Zentraleuropa verbunden. Jeder ist der Gewinner, weil natürlich die Unternehmen näher verbunden sind. Und dann, wenn man keine extra Distanz zum Fahren hat, wird man auch in Kohle getrennt.
Running for 18 kilometers along the Baltic seabed, the Femmenbelt will be the world's longest prefabricated road and rail tunnel. It will slash the rail route between Copenhagen and Hamburg from four and a half to just two and a half hours and replace the 45-minute ferry journey by a drive of less than 10 minutes.
Financed mostly by Denmark, which plans to recoup the costs with tolls, this $7.5 billion megaproject has been in the pipeline for two decades. It's been delayed by lawsuits, rising costs and opposition from environmentalists, who say it will harm the area's biodiversity. Those managing the project say any impact is temporary.
But it's hoped investment will boost the local area, and building is now well underway. Senior Construction Manager Anas Gertz-Beller leads the way inside the entrance.
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Chapter 7: What agreements have Russia and Ukraine reached regarding the Black Sea?
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Next to Turkey. And large crowds gathered on Tuesday for another night of protests outside the city hall in Istanbul in what the opposition party said would be the last demonstration in the area. It's in response to the arrest of President Erdogans main political rival, Ekrem Imamoglu, who was detained on accusations of corruption and supporting terrorism.
More than a thousand people have been arrested during the past week. Our correspondent Mark Lowen sent this report from Istanbul.
We've made our way through streets closed off by police and dotted with water cannon trucks to Istanbul City Hall, where for a seventh night huge crowds have gathered, chanting for democracy and against the jailing of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
His CHP party says this is the last night they'll come here and that the protests, the biggest in Turkey in over a decade, will continue elsewhere, more of a grassroots movement. Wir sehen heute, wie Tausende von Studenten ihre Klassen beurteilt haben und in Zentral-Istanbul gefeuert haben.
Die Verbrechung hat sich in Dörfern anderer Städte verbreitet, die den Präsidenten Erdogans Autoritärenismus beurteilen. Er hat es gegründet, schrecklich. Mark Lowen in Turkey.
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