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In a striking incident, Pete Hegseth, who served as Secretary of Defense under President Trump, inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, in a chat group on Signal that was discussing U.S. military strategies against Houthi rebels in Yemen. This revelation was detailed in a comprehensive article by Goldberg himself, which examined the implications of such a security lapse.
Goldberg’s report elaborated that he received a request to connect on the encrypted messaging platform Signal, purportedly from a user named Michael Waltz. Initially, Goldberg believed this to be a legitimate request from Trump’s national security adviser but later discovered it was from an actual individual with the same name.
Following this, Goldberg found himself added to a group chat named “Houthi PC small group,” which included several top members of the Trump administration’s national-security team. This chat featured Hegseth, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other key officials.
On March 15, just hours before the U.S. launched airstrikes in Yemen, Hegseth shared detailed military plans with the group, which included sensitive information about weaponry, target locations, and operational timing. Goldberg expressed astonishment at the breach, noting the unusual nature of having a journalist involved in such discussions, which typically occur in a far more secure context.
He remarked, “I have never seen a breach quite like this,” emphasizing that while Signal can serve as a communication tool for national-security discussions, it is usually reserved for less sensitive logistical conversations rather than in-depth military operations.
The National Security Council subsequently confirmed the authenticity of the message chain. Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the Council, stated that they are investigating how an unintended participant was included in the conversation, asserting that it illustrates the coordination among senior officials while also asserting that there were no significant risks posed to troops or national security as a result of the operation.
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