Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

swag

(26,556 posts)
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 05:12 PM Mar 26

Mike Waltz Left His Venmo Friends List Public

Source: Wired

A Venmo account under the name “Michael Waltz,” carrying a profile photo of the national security adviser and connected to accounts bearing the names of people closely associated with him, was left open to the public until Wednesday afternoon. A WIRED analysis shows that the account revealed the names of hundreds of Waltz’s personal and professional associates, including journalists, military officers, lobbyists, and others—information a foreign intelligence service or other actors could exploit for any number of ends, experts say.

Among the accounts linked to “Michael Waltz” are ones that appear to belong to Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, and Walker Barrett, a staffer on the United States National Security Council. Both were fellow participants in a now-infamous Signal group chat called “Houthi PC small group.”
. . .

A WIRED review of public data exposed on Venmo accounts associated with senior administration officials suggests that the Signal group chat was not an isolated mistake, but part of a broader pattern of what national security experts describe as reckless behavior by some of the most powerful people in the US government.

The Venmo account under Waltz’s name includes a 328-person friend list. Among them are accounts sharing the names of people closely associated with Waltz, such as Barrett, formerly Waltz’s deputy chief of staff when Waltz was a member of the House of Representatives, and Micah Thomas Ketchel, former chief of staff to Waltz and currently a senior adviser to Waltz and President Donald Trump.

Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/michael-waltz-left-his-venmo-public/

53 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Mike Waltz Left His Venmo Friends List Public (Original Post) swag Mar 26 OP
So this is "merit-based" hiring? Ocelot II Mar 26 #1
Clearly Hegseth was a DUI hire! COL Mustard Mar 26 #22
DUI. Damned Unbelievable Idiot. calimary Mar 27 #44
boy's about as sharp as a bowling ball Skittles Mar 26 #2
I've seen more intelligent things markodochartaigh Mar 26 #20
I heard that in Foghorn Leghorn's voice. boonecreek Mar 26 #23
I hear Foghorn Leghorn whenever that moron Sen John Kennedy speaks Skittles Mar 26 #25
Good one! calimary Mar 27 #49
Trent Lott AlanAdam Friday #50
A conspiracy of fools. marble falls Mar 26 #3
Effing amateur hour, days, weeks, months with these fools, JFC! the nelm Mar 26 #28
Putin and comrades are having a nice chuckle over how stupid their US assets are. erronis Mar 26 #4
Arrogance plus stupidity central scrutinizer Mar 26 #5
Wonder if Gaetz helped setting it up???7 rubbersole Mar 26 #6
Gaetz could have only helped him with Minor purchases . . . Journeyman Mar 26 #11
LOL!! WestMichRad Mar 26 #33
Woot! Hekate Mar 26 #38
Amateur hour!!! Pisces Mar 26 #7
how many Russians were on that list? lol nt Javaman Mar 26 #8
Methinks Waltz is gonna be the fall guy. . . DinahMoeHum Mar 26 #9
I tend to agree. Maybe these "friends" he's exposing will get a hint of how we feel with Musk in our personal lives Deuxcents Mar 26 #10
Waltz is the maroon who added Goldstein MontanaMama Mar 26 #15
The first of many. progressoid Mar 27 #46
Is he the one that's hanging with Putin in Russia?....... Lovie777 Mar 26 #12
No. That dunce is Steve Witkoff. highplainsdem Mar 26 #17
Also known as Witlesskoff Captain Zero Mar 26 #26
No one with that kind of exposure can possibly continue to serve in government. Raven Mar 26 #13
I have no doubt my 92 year old mother ToxMarz Mar 26 #14
Bwahahaha Captain Zero Mar 26 #27
It's amateur hour, folks! Snarkoleptic Mar 26 #16
Well said. harun Mar 26 #30
And now... WestMichRad Mar 26 #34
WIRED has been doing great work. BadgerMom Mar 26 #18
Yep. A subscription is worthy every penny. They're doing amazing political reporting on all things tech and vice versa ancianita Mar 27 #47
$12 for a year. BadgerMom Mar 27 #48
Experts! Tom Dyer Mar 26 #19
This message was self-deleted by its author COL Mustard Mar 26 #21
Yeah, it wasn't war plans it was an attack plan. Is that the same as a concept of a war plan? Bev54 Mar 26 #32
My biggest fear... BurnDoubt Mar 26 #24
Why are all these folks on Venmo - are they passing money back and forth? jmbar2 Mar 26 #29
A fair number of rubles and kopecks, I'd think. n/t Harker Mar 26 #31
That is what I was thinking Sanity Claws Mar 26 #35
Exactly Right Farmer-Rick Mar 27 #40
I think it's how they make political donations to their PACs FakeNoose Mar 27 #43
The best and brightest of America don't have time for your security policies, Commie IronLionZion Mar 26 #36
Comprehensive list of RW scum and walking pustules wolfie001 Mar 26 #37
Archiv.is Is Your Huckleberry MayReasonRule Mar 27 #39
Literally the worst people you could put in charge are in charge. Initech Mar 27 #41
They're all so stupid, they make Chump look smart! FakeNoose Mar 27 #42
That may be a purpose RockCreek Friday #53
Russian, Chinese, Iranian, and N. Korean intelligence agencies are grateful, I'm sure. eppur_se_muova Mar 27 #45
Are they all sending him money? Why? Irish_Dem Friday #51
How low can you go? Canada Kid Friday #52

Ocelot II

(123,950 posts)
1. So this is "merit-based" hiring?
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 05:16 PM
Mar 26

Or is it affirmative action for mediocre, sloppy, tech-ignorant white men?

markodochartaigh

(2,534 posts)
20. I've seen more intelligent things
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 06:58 PM
Mar 26

lying on their backs at the bottom of ponds. I've seen more organized things running around barnyards with their heads cut off.



Special thanks to Fawlty Towers

AlanAdam

(100 posts)
50. Trent Lott
Fri Mar 28, 2025, 06:42 AM
Friday

Do you remember him, former GOP speaker of the house from Mississippi IIRC? I heard someone refer to him as Trenthorn Lotthorn. Sounded just like the cartoon character.

the nelm

(45 posts)
28. Effing amateur hour, days, weeks, months with these fools, JFC!
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 07:30 PM
Mar 26

Of course, expecting anything less with Mr. Trump in charge is fool's errand...

erronis

(18,659 posts)
4. Putin and comrades are having a nice chuckle over how stupid their US assets are.
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 05:19 PM
Mar 26

I hate to give credit to the russians, but they have nicely played this game.

Deuxcents

(21,587 posts)
10. I tend to agree. Maybe these "friends" he's exposing will get a hint of how we feel with Musk in our personal lives
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 05:39 PM
Mar 26

MontanaMama

(24,355 posts)
15. Waltz is the maroon who added Goldstein
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 06:14 PM
Mar 26

to the chat so he may very well go first. I would add that if he doesn’t get fired, none of them will.

ToxMarz

(2,309 posts)
14. I have no doubt my 92 year old mother
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 06:12 PM
Mar 26

is more tech savvy than this Mook. He probably doesn't even know he has Venmo.

Snarkoleptic

(6,108 posts)
16. It's amateur hour, folks!
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 06:20 PM
Mar 26

Foreign actors are always on the lookout for intel weaknesses to exploit.
We are not safe.

WestMichRad

(2,193 posts)
34. And now...
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 08:02 PM
Mar 26

They don’t even have to work to find intel weaknesses. These bozos are gift-wrapping them.

BadgerMom

(3,171 posts)
18. WIRED has been doing great work.
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 06:52 PM
Mar 26

I think I’m going to subscribe in support. It’s good that journalists somewhere know what the job entails.

ancianita

(40,215 posts)
47. Yep. A subscription is worthy every penny. They're doing amazing political reporting on all things tech and vice versa
Thu Mar 27, 2025, 04:18 PM
Mar 27

BadgerMom

(3,171 posts)
48. $12 for a year.
Thu Mar 27, 2025, 09:14 PM
Mar 27

Of course, it automatically renews in a year. Then it’s $30. But that’s still within reason for me and if I don’t want to renew, I’ve set my calendar for 3/1/26 to review my options.

Response to swag (Original post)

Bev54

(12,313 posts)
32. Yeah, it wasn't war plans it was an attack plan. Is that the same as a concept of a war plan?
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 07:53 PM
Mar 26

BurnDoubt

(210 posts)
24. My biggest fear...
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 07:16 PM
Mar 26

is that we won't get ahead of this before Evolution weeds out the unfit. So far, we've been getting by on the fruits of their incompetence and the blunders attributed to his out-of-control Ego. We're in a race to find a cure before it kills us all. Where are the Constitutional Scholars????????? The Constitution can't be so poorly written that it permits the very thing it was written to prevent????????

Sanity Claws

(22,155 posts)
35. That is what I was thinking
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 08:06 PM
Mar 26

I have very few Venmo contacts. Just friends that I have to pay back for a dinner out or something similar. Why would anyone have over 300 contacts on Venmo? Are most of them from the Trump administration?

Farmer-Rick

(11,708 posts)
40. Exactly Right
Thu Mar 27, 2025, 12:44 PM
Mar 27

Musk passes off our Social Security funds and other tax dollars to his pals, and they pass it around to pay off each other. Like Putin does with Russian tax rubles, after he builds himself a castle that costs him nothing.

I would love to see what money is changing hands.

IronLionZion

(48,280 posts)
36. The best and brightest of America don't have time for your security policies, Commie
Wed Mar 26, 2025, 08:40 PM
Mar 26

We are witnessing true greatness every day.

eppur_se_muova

(38,686 posts)
45. Russian, Chinese, Iranian, and N. Korean intelligence agencies are grateful, I'm sure.
Thu Mar 27, 2025, 04:10 PM
Mar 27

Now they know all the phones they should hack.

Irish_Dem

(67,214 posts)
51. Are they all sending him money? Why?
Fri Mar 28, 2025, 06:44 AM
Friday

Or like Gaetz is his paying off the girls he is trafficking?

Canada Kid

(65 posts)
52. How low can you go?
Fri Mar 28, 2025, 06:54 AM
Friday

With the dust from this last security blowout still swirling in the wind....this inept moron pulls the same stunt on another public chat service! Just a hollow space between the ears! Just look up "moron" in the dictionary...his name is printed beside!

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Mike Waltz Left His Venmo...