War Plans Group Chat, Alien Enemies Act, U.S. Greenland Visit

Summary

Up First from NPR
Episode Title: War Plans Group Chat, Alien Enemies Act, U.S. Greenland Visit
Release Date: March 25, 2025
Hosts: Leila Fadel, Steve Inskeep, Michel Martin, and A Martinez

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1. War Plans Group Chat Leak

In the opening segment, Layla Fadel discusses a significant security breach involving top U.S. national security officials. A federal judge revealed that sensitive U.S. military plans to strike Yemen were inadvertently shared in a group chat that included a journalist.

Key Points:

• The group chat was conducted on the commercial messaging app Signal, which is not secured for government communications.
• The chat included high-ranking officials such as National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
• Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic, was accidentally included in the chat and initially suspected it was a hoax. He later confirmed the authenticity of the U.S. airstrikes as they commenced.

Notable Quote:

"I'm sitting in my car in a parking lot in a supermarket at 11:44 am Eastern, and I get this war plan from Pete Hegseth." — Pete Hegseth [03:40]

Discussion:

• Greg Myhre, NPR’s national security correspondent, highlights the gravity of using an unsecured app for discussing military operations.
• The group chat’s informality, including the use of emojis like the clenched fist, flag, and fire, raised concerns about the professionalism and security awareness of the officials involved.
• Layla Fadel questions the practicality of using Secure Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) given the necessity for officials to communicate while traveling or off-duty, to which Greg Myhre responds that despite being impractical, SCIFs are the standard for handling classified information.

Conclusion: The incident underscores potential lapses in protocol among national security officials and raises questions about the administration's preparedness and adherence to secure communication practices.

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2. Legal Battle over Alien Enemies Act and Deportation of Venezuelan Migrants

The podcast delves into the legal controversy surrounding the Trump administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of a Venezuelan gang, Trende Aragua. This act has been rarely invoked, historically used only during active wartime conditions.

Key Points:

• A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., is reviewing whether the administration can deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants swiftly under this authority.
• Joel Rose, NPR’s reporter, explains that the current case challenges whether due process was afforded to these individuals, comparing their treatment unfavorably to historical precedents under the Alien Enemies Act.
• Judge Patricia Millett expressed concerns about the lack of due process, noting that unlike during World War II, there was no opportunity for the Venezuelan migrants to contest their deportation effectively.

Notable Quote:

"Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemy act than has happened here." — Michelle Martin [07:56]

Discussion:

• The administration argues that the designation of Trende Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization justifies the use of the Alien Enemies Act.
• Joel Rose points out that immigrant advocates argue many deported individuals lack U.S. criminal records and may have been targeted solely based on their tattoos, disputing claims of gang affiliation.
• The administration is also invoking the state secrets privilege to withhold details about the deportation flights, complicating judicial oversight.

Conclusion: The legal tug-of-war highlights the tension between national security measures and individual rights, emphasizing the need for transparency and due process in the execution of such authority.

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3. U.S. Second Lady's Visit to Greenland

The episode transitions to international relations, focusing on Second Lady Usha Vance’s planned visit to Greenland, a move that has sparked controversy given Greenland’s strategic significance and the fraught relations between the U.S. and Greenland.

Key Points:

• Deepa Shivaram, NPR’s White House correspondent, explains that Vance’s trip is framed as a cultural excursion aimed at soft diplomacy, including visits to historical sites and participation in Greenland's national dog sled race.
• Despite the White House's portrayal of the visit as friendly, Greenland’s Prime Minister has criticized it as aggressive, stating that it signifies the U.S. interest in annexing Greenland.
• President Trump maintains that the visit is not a provocation and underscores Greenland’s strategic location and its rich deposits of critical minerals essential for technology.
• The visit coincides with a separate trip by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to a U.S. military base in Greenland, further intensifying tensions.

Notable Quote:

"International travel is often set up as a way for first and second ladies to connect with the voting public or the people of the allies. That is not the context at all as she embarks on this trip later this week." — Elizabeth Natali, Professor at UNC Greensboro [11:35]

Discussion:

• Mike Waltz elaborates that the visit includes a delegation and his family, aiming to portray a positive image of the U.S. despite existing political strains.
• Elizabeth Natali and other experts express skepticism about the trip’s diplomatic intentions, given the lack of invitation from Greenland and prior aggressive rhetoric from the Trump administration regarding the territory.

Conclusion: Usha Vance’s visit to Greenland serves as a microcosm of the broader geopolitical maneuvering in the Arctic region, reflecting the strategic interests of the U.S. and the delicate balance of maintaining diplomatic relations.

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Final Remarks

Layla Fadel and Michelle Martin conclude the episode by directing listeners to NPR's Morning Edition for more in-depth coverage and encourage support for local NPR stations.

Behind the Scenes: The episode was meticulously edited by Andrew Sussman, Eric Westervelt, Roberta Rampton, Janaya Williams, and Mohamed Delbradisi, with production by Ziad Buch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas. Engineering and technical support were provided by Stacey Abbott and Carly Strange, respectively.

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This episode of Up First delivers a comprehensive overview of pressing national security issues, legal debates surrounding immigration, and nuanced international relations, providing listeners with insightful analysis to start their day informed.

Transcript

[Michelle Martin]

US Military plans were discussed on a group chat that included, apparently by accident, a journalist.

[Pete Hegseth]

I'm sitting in my car and I get this war plan from Pete Hegseth.

[Layla Fadel]

Why were sensitive plans to strike Yemen shared on an unsecured commercial messaging app?

[Michelle Martin]

I'm Michelle Martin. That's Layla Fadel. And this is up first from NPR News. A federal judge says the Trump administration did not give appropriate due process to hundreds of Venezuelan migrants when it deported them under a wartime law, got better treatment under the Alien Enemy act than has happened here. What is the administration's argument?

[Layla Fadel]

And the prime minister of Greenland is not happy about an upcoming visit from second lady Usha Vance.

[Usha Vance]

International travel is often set up as a way to connect with the voting.

[Layla Fadel]

Public, but Greenland sees it as aggressive. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

[Pete Hegseth]

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[Deepa Shivaram]

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[Layla Fadel]

[e-mail] Prevention in an extraordinary security breach, the country's most senior security officials created a group chat on a messaging app to discuss U.S. airstrikes on Yemen.

[Michelle Martin]

Now, two important points about this first, the group chat was on that commercial messaging app signal, not a secure US Government network. And second, the group included a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of the Atlantic magazine. Apparently by accident for more, we're joined.

[Layla Fadel]

By NPR national security correspondent Greg Myhre. Hey, Greg.

[Greg Myhre]

Good morning, Layla.

[Layla Fadel]

Okay, so, I mean, how did this happen?

[Greg Myhre]

Well, the editor of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, said he got a notice on the messaging app signal on March 11 inviting him to join a group chat regarding the Houthis in Yemen. Now, the invitation came from the national security advisor, Mike Waltz, and included all the top national security officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Now, Goldberg initially thought this was some sort of hoax. Someone was trying to entrap him. But over the next few days, the texts increasingly look to be genuine, with details about US Plans to bomb the Houthis in Yemen. Goldberg spoke to All Things Considered yesterday about what then happened. On March 15, I'm sitting in my.

[Pete Hegseth]

Car in a parking lot in a supermarket at 11:44am Eastern, and I get this war plan from Pete HEGSETH.

[Greg Myhre]

And so two hours later, the U.S. bombing begins in Yemen, and Goldberg realizes this is no hoax. These US Airstrikes are real, and they're still. And Hegseth yesterday questioned the credibility of Goldberg, but the National Security Council put out a statement saying the material appeared to be authentic.

[Layla Fadel]

I mean, it's pretty remarkable. And Democrats have been highly critical of Trump's national security team, saying it lacked experience. Is this an example of that supposed lack of experience?

[Greg Myhre]

Well, Layla certainly seems so, and they certainly should have known better. Hegseth often talks about his military experience, as does Walt's, and rest assured, they were never told as soldiers to share military operations in advance on their preferred messaging app and to include emojis, as Waltz apparently did, with a clenched fist, a flag, and a fire emoji. And this group also included the nation's top two intelligence officials, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Now, those agencies are absolutely fanatical about secure communications. Yet based on Goldberg's account, no senior national security official raised concerns about sharing war plans on signal.

[Layla Fadel]

And how do national security officials normally communicate when discussing sensitive military operations?

[Greg Myhre]

Well, those officials are supposed to use a scif, which stands for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. These secure rooms are built to discuss classified information. You can't take a phone into these rooms. You can't take documents out. And all of these top ranking national security officials have skiffs at their offices and at their homes.

[Layla Fadel]

I mean, makes sense in principle, but how does it work in reality? Senior national security officials are often traveling for work. Their job doesn't end when the weekend comes. Is this practical?

[Greg Myhre]

Well, it can be. Very impractical, but that's how it's supposed to be done. These airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen began on a Saturday afternoon. So officials may not have been near a skiff, but it doesn't mean they should be discussing the launch of a major US Military operation in real time on their phones, on a commercial messaging app.

[Layla Fadel]

NPR's Greg Myhre. Thank you, Greg.

[Greg Myhre]

Sure thing, Layla.

[Layla Fadel]

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. is weighing whether to allow the White House to quickly deport alleged members of a Venezuelan gang under a rarely used wartime authority.

[Michelle Martin]

It is the latest episode in a broader legal debate about the Alien Enemies Act. And last night the administration said it is invoking the state secrets privilege in a standoff with another federal judge over deportation flights that may have defied his orders.

[Layla Fadel]

NPR's Joel Rose has been following that debate, and he joins us now. Good morning, Joel.

[Joel Rose]

Hey, Layla.

[Layla Fadel]

Okay, so this case has been moving pretty quickly. Remind us, what was the appeals court considering at the hearing Monday?

[Joel Rose]

This is a three judge panel from the D.C. circuit Court of Appeals, and it was hearing an appeal from the Trump administration of a lower court's ruling. The district court judge in that case has temporarily blocked the administration from deporting anyone under the Alien Enemies act, which has only been used three times in US History, all when the country was actively at war. The Trump administration argues it should apply here as well because of the threat posed by the Venezuelan gang Trende Aragua, which the administration has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. In an order yesterday, the judge reaffirmed his temporary restraining order on the grounds that these Venezuelan migrants have not gotten due process, had no meaningful chance to argue that they are not members of this notorious gang.

[Layla Fadel]

And what happened in the appeals court hearing Monday?

[Joel Rose]

One appeals court judge in particular seemed also very concerned about these due process questions. Judge Patricia Millett, who was appointed by Barack Obama. This law was used most recently during World War II. And even then, Millet said detained Germans had a chance to fight their deportations. Unlike these Venezuelans today.

[Michelle Martin]

There were plane loads of people. There were no procedures in place to notify people. Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemy act than has happened here.

[Joel Rose]

You know, the Justice Department's lawyer disputed the Nazi analogy and said that some of these Venezuelan men have in fact been able to fight their removal. But Judge Millette questioned whether the other 200 migrants who were deported had any chance to do that. She said, we don't have any record of whether these people were gang members or victims of the gang. The White House says it is confident that all of those deported are violent gang members. But the administration has also conceded in legal filings that many do not have criminal records in the U.S. immigrant advocates contend many are actually not gang members at all, but have been targeted because they have tattoos.

[Layla Fadel]

The administration has been firm in saying they have the authority to invoke this act. What was the case they made in court?

[Joel Rose]

The Justice Department's lawyer argued that the district court judge overstepped by inserting the court into foreign policy and never should have issued his order in the first place. Here's Drew Ensign from the Justice Department.

[Greg Myhre]

The district court's order represents an unprecedented and enormous intrusion upon the powers of the executive branch and in a manner that could intrude upon sensitive diplomatic negotiations.

[Joel Rose]

Ensign also spent a lot of time arguing that immigrant advocates brought basically the wrong kind of lawsuit and should have challenged this individual cases in Texas, where these deportation flights originated. We don't know when this panel will rule, but it could be soon.

[Layla Fadel]

And at the same time, the Trump administration is fighting to avoid releasing more details about these deportation flights. Where does that stand?

[Joel Rose]

Yeah. On a separate legal track, the Trump administration has told US District Judge James Boasberg last night that it is invoking the state secrets privilege and will continue to not give him key information about those flights, including departure times and other operational details. Boasberg has been pushing the administration to explain whether it defied his orders when it allowed deportation flights to continue last weekend. He has said in court that he will get to the bottom of whether his order was violated.

[Layla Fadel]

NPR's Joel Rose. Thank you, Joel.

[Joel Rose]

You're welcome.

[Layla Fadel]

Since he took office, President Trump has repeatedly suggested that the US should take over Greenland, a territory controlled by Denmark.

[Michelle Martin]

It's in a strategic location and it is rich in critical minerals used in technology. Here's Trump speaking at a Cabinet meeting yesterday.

[Greg Myhre]

I think Greenland's going to be something.

[Usha Vance]

That maybe is in our future.

[Greg Myhre]

I think it's important. It's important from the standpoint of international security.

[Michelle Martin]

But leaders in Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly rejected these advances, saying Greenland is not for sale. So an announcement this week that second Lady Usha Vance is traveling there raised some eyebrows.

[Layla Fadel]

NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram joins us now to talk it through. Hey, Deepa.

[Mike Waltz]

Hey. Good morning.

[Layla Fadel]

Okay, so why is Usha Vance going to Greenland? What is she doing?

[Mike Waltz]

Right. So spouses of presidents and vice presidents have typically played a role in facilitating some kind of, you know, soft diplomacy. According to the White House, this is a cultural excursion bance will visit historical sites, learn about Greenland's heritage, and attend Greenland's national dog sled race, which involves more than 400 dogs, I learned. But given how fraught things are between the US And Greenland, it's an unusual visit for Vance to make this early in the administration. It's not clear what Vance's portfolio of issues is and what, you know, she'll focus on. But I did talk to a couple people who've studied first and second ladies, and they were surprised at the announcement of this trip because of how contentious the politics are. Here's Elizabeth Natali. She's a professor at UNC Greensboro and helped found the First Ladies association of Research and Education.

[Usha Vance]

International travel is often set up as a way for first and second ladies to connect with the voting public or the people of the ally often involved in this travel. When you're promoting friendship, you're promoting equality and humanity and democracy, that is not the context at all as she embarks on this trip later this week.

[Mike Waltz]

Now, Natalie says it's possible that Vance can carve out a space on this trip to convey a positive image of herself and the US she is bringing one of her young sons with her, but combined with the rhetoric from the White House, it might be a steeper climb for the second lady.

[Layla Fadel]

Now, is she going on her own or is there more White House involvement here?

[Mike Waltz]

So at this point, there's two parts of this. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz is also making a trip to a US Military base in Greenland this week that's separate. And so Vance is traveling with her son and a U.S. delegation, and they'll be there for about three days.

[Layla Fadel]

And what's the reaction been in Greenland?

[Mike Waltz]

It's been negative. In an interview with a Greenlandic newspaper over the weekend, the prime minister of Greenland said that the visit from members, members of the Trump administration was very aggressive. Layla. He said that Greenland has to face the seriousness of the situation of the US Wanting to annex them. Now, Trump, for his part, says this isn't a provocation. He says it's a purely friendly visit and claimed that the US Was invited to visit Greenland, though NPR is not able to confirm if there was an invite. He also mentioned that countries like Russia and China are trying to assert more control in the Arctic region. And he teased that Secretary of State Marco Rubio may also visit the territory. And I will just point out that in January, before inauguration, Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr. Made a trip to Greenland as well.

[Layla Fadel]

That's NPR's Deepa Shiveram. Thank you, Deepa thank you. And that's up first for Tuesday, March 25th. I'm Layla Falden and I Michelle Martin.

[Michelle Martin]

Thanks for listening to Up First. You can find more in depth coverage of the stories we talked about today and lots More on NPR's Morning Edition, the radio show that Layla Fudle, Stephen A. Martinez and I host. Find Morning Edition on your local NPR [e-mail] Today's episode of Up first was.

[Layla Fadel]

Edited by Andrew Sussman, Eric Westervelt, Roberta Rampton, Janaya Williams and Mohamed Delbradisi. It was produced by Ziad Buch, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.

[Deepa Shivaram]

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