On Saturday, March 15, the U.S. launched a strike on Houthi members in Yemen that killed at least 53 people, according to Houthi sources, but Jeffrey Goldberg from the Atlantic already knew of these plans; Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth texted them to him – seemingly on accident.
The Houthis are an Iran-backed, designated terrorist organization that has been attacking ships on the Red Sea and causing trade and navigation issues. A group of U.S. officials had set up a group chat called “Houthi PC small group” on Signal Messenger, an application that allows for more security than regular text messaging, to discuss intimate details of the planned strike on Yemen to target Houthi members.
The members of this war plan group chat included, but were not limited to, the following officials: Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Ratcliffe and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Waltz added Goldberg on the application and subsequently added him to the chat. Waltz began the text thread and eventually gave information to brief the group.
On March 14, Vance then expressed concern over the public perception of the strike on Yemen, even going against the opinion of President Donald Trump.
“I think we are making a mistake … There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message,” said Vance
He continued, “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now … I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”
A few messages later, Hegseth chimed in with insight on the framing they planned on using to justify the action, specifically that past President Biden didn’t do enough.
He said, “I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded.”
“2 immediate risks on waiting: 1) this leaks, and we look indecisive; 2) Israel takes an action first – or Gaza cease fire falls apart – and we don’t get to start this on our own terms … This [is] not about the Houthis. I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablish deterrence, which Biden cratered,” Hegseth continued.
One of the goals discussed in the group was Trump’s direction to make sure the U.S. is the country to reopen shipping lanes, which consequently would also benefit Europe, a U.S. ally.
Waltz said, “Whether it’s now or several weeks from now, it will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes. Per the president’s request we are working with DOD and State to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans.”
Vance responded, “If you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.”
“I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC … I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes,” responded Hegseth
Then, just about an hour before the strike on March 15, Hegseth revealed details that, if intercepted, could have allowed the Houthis to have a “head start” of sorts to shoot down or otherwise endanger the U.S. military personnel carrying out the mission. Goldberg did not share these details until March 26.
His text thread read, “TEAM UPDATE: TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/ [Central Command] we are a GO for mission launch.
1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)
1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)
1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)
1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)
1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.
MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline).”
After the strike, Waltz provided an update to the group chat that the intended building had collapsed and that multiple individuals who were being targeted were positively identified as being in the building.
“The first target – their top missile guy – we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend’s building and it’s now collapsed,” said Waltz
The last message Goldberg captured before leaving the group chat he was accidentally invited to said the following: “Great job all. More strikes ongoing for hours tonight, and will provide full initial report tomorrow. But on time, on target, and good readouts so far,” said Hegseth.
When asked about the incident by a reporter, Waltz responded with criticisms toward the Atlantic as a publication and Goldberg for being an alleged Trump-hater.
“I can tell you for 100% I don’t know this guy … I know him in the sense that he hates the president … He wasn’t on my phone,” said Waltz, who added Goldberg on the application and to the group chat.
He continued, “I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but of all the people out there. Somehow this guy … then gets sucked into this group.”
Trump denied knowing anything about the signal group chat but asserted, along with Gabbard and Ratcliffe, that the information exchanged was not classified.
When Goldberg reached out to members of the White House staff for a comment before releasing the more detailed information about the plans, only the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded.
She said, “… There was no classified information transmitted in the group chat. However … that does not mean we encourage the release of the conversation. This was intended to be a … private deliberation amongst high-level senior staff and sensitive information was discussed …”
Hegseth, who sent the detailed attack plan, further denied the claims; “It’s a complete opposite approach from the fecklessness of the Biden administration … Nobody’s texting war plans,” he said.
The individuals involved in the group chat have the authority to declassify information, but the legality of sharing sensitive information, especially that which puts military personnel at risk, sits in murky water.
The Atlantic consulted with national security lawyers, who identified numerous mess-ups, the first being that U.S. officials should not be using Signal to be in a text thread to begin with. Further, only sensitive compartmented information facilities (SCIF) or specific government equipment may be used to discuss military activity, neither of which precautions were adhered to.
Federal records law may have been broken as well considering the messages were set by Waltz to delete after just weeks. According to the law, “ the regulations must require agencies to electronically capture, manage, and preserve electronic message records.”
As it appears now, there haven’t been any repercussions for the actions of these officials that put U.S. military in danger, with Representative Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., all claiming it was just a mistake.
“Give him a pass,” said Rep. Salazar.
These sentiments of forgiveness certainly were not shared back when Hillary Clinton was found to have used a private email in her work as secretary of state. Trump even used the incident as campaign fuel in 2016, often saying Clinton should be jailed.
Hegseth, who worked at Fox News at the time, said, “Any security professional — military, government or otherwise — would be fired on the spot for this type of conduct and criminally prosecuted for being so reckless with this kind of information.”
He also said, “People have gone to jail for one one-hundredth of what, even one one-thousandth of what Hillary Clinton did.”
The full screenshots that Jeffrey Goldberg posted of the sensitive military information he mistakenly became privy to are attached.
