U-S Officials Mistakenly Shared War Plans With Journalist

Top officials in the Trump administration inadvertently shared sensitive war plans regarding U.S. military strikes on Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels with Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.

The incident occurred when Goldberg was accidentally added to an encrypted group chat on the Signal messaging app, named the "Houthi PC small group," which included high-ranking officials such as National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, among others.

The chat, which began on March 13, 2025, involved discussions about coordinating U.S. military action against the Houthis, including operational details like targets, weapons, and timing. 

When Goldberg was first added to the Signal chain two weeks ago, he was incredulous. “It didn’t seem plausible to me,” he candidly told Oliver Darcy at the Status newsletter Monday evening. Shane Harris, The Atlantic’s national security reporter who was brought in early on the story, also shared that view initially, Goldberg said. But by Monday morning, after the NSC confirmed the conversation was authentic, there was not a shred of doubt left. The reporting checked out. The story was airtight.

Goldberg received these details firsthand, notably from Hegseth, two hours before the U.S. launched airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15. The White House, through National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes, acknowledged that the message thread "appears to be authentic" and stated that they were investigating how Goldberg’s number was mistakenly added to the group.

The blunder sparked significant controversy. Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons, labeled the use of Signal for such sensitive discussions as "blatantly illegal and dangerous," citing potential violations of U.S. laws on handling classified information and federal record-keeping regulations, especially since the messages were set to auto-delete. 

They called for a congressional investigation, arguing it represented a major breach of national security. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer described it as "one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence" in recent memory.

President Trump initially claimed ignorance of the incident, telling reporters, "I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic." Later, he was briefed on the matter, and the White House maintained confidence in its national security team despite the mishap. Hegseth denied the severity of the leak, insisting, "Nobody was texting war plans," and criticized Goldberg as "deceitful," though Goldberg countered on CNN, asserting, "That’s a lie. He was texting war plans."

HEGSETH: "Nobody was texting war plans and that's all I have to say about that." pic.twitter.com/lQKgovsOrS

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) March 24, 2025

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was adamant Monday that sensitive “war plans” were not being discussed in a Signal chat group that inadvertently included a journalist. 

“Nobody was texting war plans and that’s all I have to say about that,” Hegseth told reporters in Hawaii when asked about a report in The Atlantic revealing a stunning breach of national security involving high-level Trump administration officials.  

The magazine’s top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed in the piece that he was inadvertently included in a group text on the encrypted Signal app with Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz and other Trump administration officials where internal deliberations and operational details about airstrikes against Houthi terrorists were discussed. 

Goldberg was added to the Signal chain on March 11, well before the strikes in Yemen were carried out on March 15.