Senior officials from the Trump administration mistakenly included journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, in a Signal messaging group discussing classified military operations in Yemen.
The incident occurred two days prior to the planned airstrikes on March 15, 2025.
The group chat featured high-ranking officials, including Vice-President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
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During the exchange, sensitive details about targets, weapons, and attack sequences were inadvertently shared.
Goldberg promptly notified his editorial team and the White House about the incident.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes confirmed the authenticity of the texts but asserted that the mission’s security remained uncompromised.
“This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” Hughes said.
“The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to troops or national security.”
Goldberg recalled that when he first joined the group chat, he was shocked that the United States’ national security leadership would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans.
“I also could not believe that the national security adviser to the president would be so reckless as to include the editor in chief of The Atlantic.
President Donald Trump denied any prior knowledge of the incident.
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of the Atlantic,” he told reporters.
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