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Waltz and staff used Gmail for government communications, officials say

Trump’s national security adviser is trying to manage his way out of a crisis. But new revelations about his team’s operational security are piling up in the inbox.

7 min
National security adviser Michael Waltz, center, explains how a reporter ended up on a group Signal chat among top officials discussing a U.S. air attack on Yemen’s Houthis. (John McDonnell/For The Washington Post)

Members of President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, including White House national security adviser Michael Waltz, have conducted government business over personal Gmail accounts, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post and interviews with three U.S. officials.

The use of Gmail, a far less secure method of communication than the encrypted messaging app Signal, is the latest example of questionable data security practices by top national security officials already under fire for the mistaken inclusion of a journalist in a group chat about high-level planning for military operations in Yemen.

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