Press Releases

Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to National Security Advisor Michael Waltz demanding he and his staff immediately stop their use of unauthorized and insecure messaging and email applications and platforms for government business, turn over documents, and report additional failures to follow federal laws after reports surfaced that he was using his personal Gmail account to conduct sensitive and potentially classified work.  This breach in security follows last week’s shocking news that Michael Waltz and other top Trump Administration officials were sharing classified war plans through a Signal group chat that included a journalist.

“According to reporting by the Washington Post, you and your senior aides have used the free, publicly available Gmail application to conduct official government business during your brief tenure as National Security Advisor. There are numerous reports that you and other members and staff of the National Security Council (NSC) used Gmail to conduct official business, and the messaging app Signal, for additional national security-related conversations beyond what was widely reported on regarding the March 15, 2025, Yemen strike.  If true, you and your colleagues would have exhibited an astounding pattern of recklessness that places both our national security and the American people at risk and likely violates a number of federal laws.  I request that you, members of the National Security Council (NSC), and your staff immediately cease further use of unauthorized messaging and email applications and platforms for government business and immediately comply with all relevant federal records and national security laws to reassure the American public the Administration is not using unofficial and insecure communications platforms to cover up wrongdoing or illegal behavior, obscure government business and records, and expose classified information,” wrote the Ranking Member.

“On April 1, 2025, The Washington Post revealed that you and several other NSC members used personal Gmail accounts, which are not encrypted, to conduct government business, rather than complying with federal records and national security laws, which require the use of secure government-issued accounts.  According to the report, ‘A senior Waltz aide used the commercial email service for highly technical conversations with colleagues at other government agencies involving sensitive military positions and powerful weapons systems relating to an ongoing conflict.’ The Wall Street Journal also reported that you have ‘created and hosted multiple other sensitive national-security conversations on Signal with cabinet members, including separate threads on how to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine as well as military operations.’  It is unclear whether in these other Signal chats, the ‘disappearing messages’ function was utilized as it was in the ‘Houthi PC small group” chat used to discuss the March 15, 2025, military strike on Yemen,” the Ranking Member continued.

To address Oversight Democrats’ concerns regarding this reckless disregard for our nation’s secrets and the potential violation of federal law, Ranking Member Connolly demanded Mr. Waltz provide all communications referring or relating to government business that he or his staff sent or received on unauthorized messaging and email applications and platforms, provide written confirmation that he and the staff of the NSC will stop further use of unauthorized messaging and email applications and platforms, identify all instances in which he or NSC staff have used these unauthorized messaging and email applications and platform, and additional requests.  The Committee has given Mr. Waltz until April 15, to respond.

Click here to read the letter to National Security Advisor Michael Waltz.