The Trump administration is facing political uproar after the White House confirmed that a journalist had been inadvertently added to an unsecure group chat in which US national security officials planned a military strike in Yemen.
The Atlantic magazine’s Jeffrey Goldberg reported that he had been added to a Signal message group which apparently included Vice-President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
He said he had seen classified military plans for US strikes on Houthi rebels, including weapons packages, targets and timing, two hours before the bombs struck.
The report sparked a firestorm of criticism from opposition Democrats and concerns among several Republicans.
Goldberg said he had been added to the message chain, apparently by accident, after receiving a connection request from someone who appeared to be White House National Security Advisor Michael Waltz.
“If they were going to pick an errant phone number, I mean at least it wasn’t somebody who supported the Houthis, because they were actually handing out information that I believe could have endangered the lives of American service people who were involved in that operation,” he told PBS in an interview.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday afternoon that he was not aware of the Atlantic article.
“The attacks on the Houthis have been highly successful and effective,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.”
