The Atlantic magazine has reported that senior national security officials in President Donald Trump’s administration, including his Secretary of Defense, mistakenly sent text messages containing detailed military plans for upcoming strikes in Yemen to a secure messaging app group chat, which inadvertently included the magazine’s editor-in-chief.
President Trump informed reporters he had no prior knowledge of the sharing of sensitive information, a statement issued two and a half hours after the information became public.
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, confirmed the leaked messages included “operational details of upcoming strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, outlining targets, weaponry the U.S. planned to deploy, and attack sequences.”
It remains unclear if these operational details were officially classified, although such information typically carries a high degree of secrecy, or at minimum, is stored securely to safeguard operational security and personnel.
Only two hours after Goldberg received these details on March 15, the United States initiated a series of airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in Yemen.
The U.S. National Security Council (NSC) has opened an investigation into the matter.
In a statement, the NSC noted it is investigating how a journalist’s phone number was mistakenly added to the Signal group chat.
When confronted by journalists, Trump responded, “I know nothing about this issue. You’re informing me about it for the first time,” dismissing The Atlantic as “a magazine of little importance.”
Despite the leak, the White House reiterated Monday that President Trump maintains strong support for his national security team. White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt stated, “President Trump continues to have full confidence in his national security team, particularly National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.”
The accidental sharing of sensitive operational information coincides with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent announcement of a stringent crackdown on intelligence leaks. Measures proposed include the potential use of polygraph tests for defense personnel to track down how journalists receive sensitive information.
Democratic lawmakers swiftly condemned the breach. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called for a thorough investigation, describing it as “one of the most egregious breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very long time.”
Senator Jack Reed, senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, declared, “If this story is accurate, it represents one of the most shocking failures of operational security and common sense I’ve ever witnessed.”
Reed emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating American lives “are at stake. The negligence shown by the Trump administration is alarming and dangerous. I will seek immediate answers from the administration.”
