Classified plans for airstrikes against the the Iranian backed Houthis in Yemen were inadvertently leaked when a reporter for The Atlantic was accidentally added to a Signal group chat of top White House officials.
What Happened?
Security Advisor Mike Waltz accidentally added Jeffery Goldberg, a reporter for The Atlantic, to a Trump administration official group chat with other 18 administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, on March 11, 2025.
In this group chat, which was through the app Signal, the group talked about air strikes and attacking sequences on Houthi Strike in Yemen. Trump insisted that no classified information was shared, and said “It’s just something that can happen.”
However, there are those that do not agree. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, sent a letter to President Trump and asked that Trump fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was also in the chat, for sharing “sensitive war plans.”
Was the Information Classified?
Former senior national security officials are dismissing the Trump administration’s statement that the plans were not considered classified. According to these senior officials, information about upcoming military attacks are always considered classified. Leon Panetta, a former CIA director and defence secretary echoed these statements when he told MSNBC, “I don’t think there is any question that we are dealing with classified information.”
A pentagon manual on classification also supports the idea that these plans should be considered classified. The manual describes how military plans or intelligence operations are always considered “secret” and that if information does get it could cause “serious damage to operations assets or individuals.” NBC News also reported that according to a 2014 national intelligence director’s office guide, “information providing indication or advance warning that the U.S. or its allies are preparing an attack” should be treated as top secret.”
What is Signal?
Signal is a messaging app used by government officials and journalists; it can also be downloaded by anyone with access to an app store. According to Fox News, those looking to keep information private, such as government officials, use the app because it protects them from the Freedom of Information Act, which states that any texts or emails from a government issued phone can become public knowledge. However, sharing important unclassified information is banned by the Defense Department Policy, this includes information sent over the Signal app.
Even though the Signal is encrypted, it is not impossible to be hacked. Encryption is when only the sender and receiver can view a message, not even the app can see the messages. However, there are still ways that messages can be seen by outside sources. Vahid Behzadan, a cybersecurity professor at the University of New Haven claims, “If a phone is infected with spyware, messages can be intercepted.” In addition, messages can be intercepted when they are unread, or if a phone is locked. Photos and screenshots are also not protected with encryption.
On top of this, Fox News reports that there has been threats of Russian officials being able to access and hack Signal messages reported by Google’s Threat Intelligence Group.
Who Was In the Chat?
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Many officials were stated and seen in the group chat discussing the attack with names and specifics on their role in the chat. These include Vice President JD Vance, Defense Security Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliff, and Director of National Intelligence Tuulsi Gabbard, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Waltz is reported to have set up the chat and be on the one who inadvertently invited Goldberg. Goldberg shared in The Atlantic, “Two days -Thursday-4:28 p.m., I received a notice that i was included in a Signal chat group,” He also shared that it was called “the ‘Houthi PC small group.’”
Waltz said Tuesday that he takes full blame and that he was the one that built the chat, but also said how he didn’t have Goldberg’s contact information and doesn’t know how he got in. However, Goldberg shows proof on how an identified user added him by the name of “Michael Waltz,” which was then proved with a screenshot as well.
Hegseth, Defensive Secretary, shared the planned time and weapons that were going to be used during the attack ahead of time; however, the administration has insisted that it did not include any “war plans.”
In the chat, it is revealed that Vance, who is a key advisor for foreign policy for the president, was skeptical about the operation, risking the rise of oil prices. In the chat, Vance said that he was “willing to support the consensus team and keep concerns to myself,” while saying “there is a strong argument for delaying this month.”
Overall, the chat included 18 officials from the Trump administration.
