The White House on Monday ordered an inquiry into how a journalist was added to a senior-level encrypted group chat that discussed the recent U.S. military strikes against the Houthi forces in Yemen.
Included in the Signal messaging app group were Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and White House National Security Adviser Michael Waltz among other top White House officials. However, journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, also was privy to the details of the March 15 bombing attack at least two hours before the mission was launched.
“The reason I know this is that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, had texted me the war plan at 11:44 a.m. The plan included precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing,” Mr. Goldberg wrote Monday in an article for The Atlantic.
Mr. Goldberg did not disclose any information about the attack before the mission was launched and while U.S. personnel were in harm’s way.
Reporters at the White House asked President Trump about the security lapse.
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic,” Mr. Trump said. “You’re telling me about it for the first time.”
The Pentagon referred questions about the security breach to the White House. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the message thread included in Mr. Goldberg’s article appears to be authentic.
“We are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the [message] chain,” Mr. Hughes said in a statement, calling the conversation “a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials.”
Mr. Hughes said the success of the mission showed that there were no threats to the safety of U.S. military personnel or national security.
In his article, Mr. Goldberg said the White House NSA chief added him to a Signal chat called “Houthi PC small group” this month. He appeared in the chat group as “J.G.” which apparently failed to arouse suspicion from the other participants.
The security breach has resulted in bipartisan calls for action from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, called for a congressional investigation into the text chain.
“This is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time,” Mr. Schumer said in floor remarks Monday. “It’s bad enough that a private citizen was added to this chain, but it’s far worse that sensitive military information was exchanged on an unauthorized application, especially when that classified military information was so important.”
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the incident was one of the most egregious failures of “operational security and common sense” that he has ever seen.
“Military operations need to be handled with utmost discretion, using approved, secure lines of communication, because American lives are on the line,” he said. “The carelessness shown by President Trump’s Cabinet is stunning and dangerous. I will be seeking answers from the administration immediately.”
Rep. Mike Lawler, New York Republican, said on X that classified information shouldn’t be transmitted on nonsecure channels — and certainly not to those without security clearances, such as reporters.
“Safeguards must be put in place to ensure this never happens again,” Mr. Lawler wrote.
