The Trump administration is under scrutiny following the accidental sharing of sensitive military plans by senior officials with a journalist via the encrypted messaging app Signal.
National Security Adviser Michael Waltz unintentionally added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to a Signal group chat where senior officials were discussing airstrike plans against Houthi targets in Yemen. The group included Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
The White House confirmed the messages’ authenticity but insisted no classified information was shared. National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes stated that the thread “appears to be authentic” and noted they are “reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” according to a statement.
According to Goldberg’s account, Hegseth shared operational details about the strikes approximately two hours before they were executed on March 15. The information reportedly detailed targets, weapons, and attack sequencing.
“Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that,” Hegseth told reporters, criticizing Goldberg as a “deceitful and highly discredited, so-called journalist.”
President Trump initially stated he was unaware of the situation, saying, “I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic.” He later acknowledged that Waltz had “claimed responsibility” for the error but maintained that “there was no classified information” shared.
The administration’s response has faced criticism from both Democrats and some conservatives. Right-wing commentator Tomi Lahren criticized the administration’s handling on social media, writing, “Trying to wordsmith the hell outta this signal debacle is making it worse. It was bad. And I’m honestly getting sick of the whatabout isms from my own side. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Admit the F up and move on.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer described the incident as “one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time” and called for a full investigation. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries described it as “yet another unprecedented example that our nation is increasingly more dangerous because of the elevation of reckless and mediocre individuals.”
National security experts have voiced significant concerns about the breach. Former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta told CNN, “Somebody needs to get fired,” highlighting that a different recipient “could reveal this information immediately to the Houthis in Yemen that they were about to be attacked.”
Kevin Carroll, a lawyer specializing in national security cases and former CIA officer, suggested the incident might violate federal laws on handling secret information. “I have defended service members accused of violating the Espionage Act through gross negligence for far, far less,” Carroll said.
Far-right Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene declined to address the leak when asked by a reporter from Sky News on Wednesday. When asked where she was from, and upon learning the reporter was from the U.K., Greene launched into a rant, avoiding the subject entirely.
Waltz has since taken “full responsibility” for the incident, according to reports, though the White House continues to defend the discussion’s content as “a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials.”
On Wednesday, a federal lawsuit was filed against five Cabinet members over the administration’s use of Signal, requesting a federal judge to declare the app’s use unlawful and order the preservation of records immediately.
The controversy grew when it was revealed that Hegseth’s office had recently announced a crackdown on leaks of sensitive information, including potential polygraph tests for defense personnel. Critics noted this apparent double standard, pointing out that some officials involved in the Signal chat had previously criticized similar security breaches.
The incident occurs amidst ongoing U.S. military operations against Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have been targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. President Trump started a campaign of large-scale military strikes against the Houthis on March 15, warning Iran, the Houthis’ main backer, to halt support for the group.
Goldberg, in interviews after his article’s publication, has contested the administration’s portrayal of events. He told PBS that while he initially thought the chat might be a hoax, he became convinced of its authenticity when the strikes on Yemen began at the time specified in the messages.
In response to the administration’s denial that the information leak was a security leak, The Atlantic posted the content of the leaked message on its website.
At 11:44 a.m., the U.S. Secretary of Defense sent a Signal message to the chat group that included an unfamiliar phone number belonging to Goldberg. This was 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes were launched and two hours and one minute prior to the expected window when American aircraft would target the Houthi “Target Terrorist.” If this message had fallen into the hands of someone hostile to U.S. interests—or even a careless individual with access to social media—the Houthis could have been alerted in time to prepare for what was intended to be a surprise attack on their positions. Such a scenario could have resulted in devastating consequences for American pilots.
The rest of the content follows.
