THE White House is in damage control mode after a stunning leak of top secret war plans — mistakenly shared with a journalist on a group chat — sent shockwaves through Washington.
The bombshell blunder came to light after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he was accidentally added to a Signal group chat with top Trump officials.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, were some of the reported chat members who discussed plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen.
Defense Secretary Hegseth furiously denied the claims Monday, insisting: “Nobody was texting war plans and that’s all I have to say about that.”;
He ripped into Goldberg, calling him a “deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist”; and accused him of “peddling hoaxes time and time again,”; citing past reports on Trump’s alleged Russia ties and disputed remarks about fallen U.S. soldiers.
Goldberg fired back on MSNBC, saying Hegseth’s denial was “a lie”; and that the messages he received contained “precise details”; of the March 15 strikes — including specific targets, sequencing of the operation, and what weapons would be deployed.
“It was a minute-by-minute accounting of what was about to happen, organized by CENTCOM,”; he said.
The White House National Security Council confirmed the messages “appear to be authentic” and announced a review into how Goldberg's number was added to the group.
NSC spokesman Brian Hughes described the thread as “a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials,”; but failed to address why they were using Signal — an app available to the public — to discuss sensitive military operations.
President Trump, meanwhile, claimed total ignorance when asked about the leak.
He told reporters: “I don’t know anything about it.
I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business.”;
According to Goldberg, the leak began on March 11, when he spoke with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Signal and was later added to a chat named “Houthi PC small group.”;
The editor believes he was mistaken for Jamieson Greer, a former U.S. Trade Representative, due to their shared initials “JG.”;
Over the following days, Goldberg received messages from senior Trump officials during the strikes.
One message from Waltz referenced “tasking per the President’s guidance”; in classified inboxes.
JD Vance raised concerns, writing: “There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary.”;
Hegseth responded: “I understand your concerns,”; before pushing ahead with the argument to strike.
After the attacks, messages praised the operation as an “amazing job”; and congratulated Hegseth for the “good start.”;
The incident has rocked the Trump administration, with Waltz reportedly at risk of losing his job.
“It was reckless not to check who was on the thread,”; a senior official told Politico.
“You can’t have recklessness as the national security adviser.”;
Despite the uproar, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that “President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.”;
Democratic senator Ruben Gallego slammed the fiasco as “Amateur hour,”; while experts and lawmakers demand answers on how such a colossal breach of national security happened — and why war plans were being discussed in a group chat in the first place.
