A political and security scandal erupted this week as The Atlantic published what it described as a transcript of highly sensitive US military attack plans against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The magazine revealed that the details were inadvertently shared with its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, through a Signal messaging app chat group, allegedly due to an error by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz or his staff. The Trump administration has since scrambled to downplay the severity of the leak, with President Donald Trump himself dismissing the controversy as a “witch hunt” against Waltz.

The Leak and Its Implications

Goldberg was mistakenly added to the “Houthi PC small group channel” on March 11, just days before a planned US military strike on the Houthi rebels scheduled for March 15. The chat included high-level officials such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, among others. Within this group, precise operational details were exchanged, including:

1144 ET: Hegseth confirmed favorable weather conditions and greenlit the mission.

1215 ET: F-18s launched in the first strike package.

1345 ET: The “trigger-based” strike window opened upon target confirmation.

1415 ET: The first bombs were scheduled to drop.

1536 ET: The second wave of F-18 strikes commenced, alongside Tomahawk missile launches.

In a scathing response, The Atlantic argued that, had these details fallen into hostile hands, the Houthis could have prepared for the attack, undermining operational security and endangering American forces. Experts in cybersecurity and intelligence have pointed out that the use of commercially available apps like Signal for sensitive military discussions presents a major vulnerability that could be exploited by adversaries. The risk of unauthorized individuals gaining access to top-level decision-making processes raises broader concerns about how the US government secures its digital communications.

Trump Administrations Response

Despite the controversy, the Trump administration has downplayed the significance of the leak. White House officials have attacked The Atlantic and Goldberg, branding him a “liar.” Trump, in an interview with Newsmax, insisted that “there was no classified information” shared in the chat and attributed the mishap to a staff error. “Somebody in my group either messed up or it’s a bad Signal,” he said, referring to the app’s communication system.

National Security Adviser Waltz, while acknowledging responsibility for the breach, denied any classified information was leaked. “No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS,” Waltz wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed this, stating, “Nobody was texting war plans. And thats all I have to say about that.”

Further complicating matters, White House have suggested that Waltzs error in adding Goldberg to the group was due to a clerical oversight by a junior staffer. Yet, the incident has sparked a broader debate over the Trump administrations internal organization and discipline, particularly regarding handling classified and sensitive military data.

The fallout reached Capitol Hill as top intelligence officials were questioned about the incident. At a Senate hearing, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe both insisted that no classified material was shared. Nevertheless, the ease with which an unauthorized individual accessed sensitive military discussions has raised alarms about the security of high-level communications. 

Vice President JD Vance initially expressed skepticism about the attack in the Signal chat, stating that he thought the US was “making a mistake.” However, he later signaled support for the operation, commenting, “I just hate bailing Europe out again.” Hegseth responded by stressing that the US was the only country capable of taking such decisive action.

National security analysts suggest that this leak could set a dangerous precedent for future cyber vulnerabilities. “This isn’t just about a one-time mistake,” said one former intelligence official. “Its about whether the US government is adequately prepared to prevent such breaches from happening again.”

The Atlantics Justification for Publishing the Leak

Goldberg and The Atlantic defended their decision to publish the leaked messages, arguing that the administrations dismissive statements left them no choice. Initially, the magazine refrained from releasing specifics about weapons and timing to protect US personnel. However, Goldberg explained that the White Houses efforts to discredit the story pushed them to release the full texts, allowing the public to judge the situation for themselves.

The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trumpcombined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal textshave led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions, wrote Goldberg in his report.

Goldberg also emphasized that the decision to publish was not taken lightly, stating that his team considered the ethical and security implications of releasing the texts. However, he argued that public interest outweighed security concerns, particularly since the administration insisted that no classified data was involved. “When top officials are using unsecured channels for sensitive discussions and then denying that anything sensitive was shared, the public has a right to scrutinize those claims,” Goldberg added.