The White House came out swinging in a tense press briefing on Wednesday, stepping up its defense of President Donald Trump’s national security team.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sparred with reporters for the first time since The Atlantic published screenshots that appeared to contradict the White House’s downplaying of a reporter being added to a Signal group chat where sensitive, potentially classified, information was relayed.
“We are not going to bend in the face of this insincere outrage,” Leavitt said in her opening remarks. “The national security adviser has taken responsibility for this matter, and the National Security Council immediately said, alongside the White House Counsel’s Office, that they are looking into how a reporter’s number was inadvertently added to this messaging thread.”