Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed plans for the war in an encrypted group chat, including a reporter two hours before the U.S. military launched an attack on Yemen’s Hotty militia, the White House said on Monday.
Jeffrey Goldberg's editor-in-chief on the Atlantic wrote in an article published on Monday that he was mistakenly added to the text chat of the commercial messaging app signals by national security adviser Michael Waltz.
This is an extraordinary violation of the NSA. Not only were journalists accidentally included in the group, but the dialogue was also conducted outside secure government channels, which were often used for classification and highly sensitive war plans.
Mr Goldberg said he was able to follow senior members of President Trump's national security team two days before the strike in Yemen. Mr Goldberg wrote that the organization also includes Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Mr. Heggs released “details of the upcoming strike against Yemen, including information about the targets, weapons and attack sequencing the United States will deploy,” Goldberg said. “If they are read by American opponents, the information contained in it could be used to harm U.S. military and intelligence personnel, especially in the wider Middle East.”
“Until Saturday's Hergus texting, it was mostly process and policy texting. Then, it turned into a war plan, and honestly, it made my spine chills.”
Mr. Goldberg did not publish details of the war plan in his article.
Mr. Goldberg wrote: “Mr. Heggs said: “The first explosions in Yemen were at 1:45 pm Eastern Time. So I was waiting in the car in the supermarket parking lot. ”
He added: “I think if this signal chat is real, the Houthi target will be bombed soon.”
Pentagon officials and residents said that at around 1:55, the initial air strikes hit buildings in and around Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, which are well-known strongholds of Hotti leaders. The strike continued throughout Saturday and the next few days.
Mr. Goldberg wrote that Mr. Heggs announced to the panel, including journalists, that measures had been taken to keep the information confidential.
“We are currently very clean on OPSEC,” Mr Hegseth wrote in the military abbreviation for Operational Security.
Several Defense Department officials were shocked by Mr. Heggs' inclusion of the American War program in the business chat team. They say that having this type of conversation in the signal chat group itself may be a violation of the Espionage Act, a law covering sensitive information.
Revealing the war plan before the strike could also lead to direct damage to the U.S. military, officials said. Former FBI officials engaged in the leak case described it as devastating national security. They spoke on anonymous condition to discuss sensitive national security issues.
Former national security official said that if personal phones were used in group chats, the behavior would become even worse due to China’s hacking efforts.
“This story represents one of the worst operational safety and common sense failures I've ever seen,” said Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat with the Armed Forces Commission.
He added: “Military operations need to be handled at the best of discretion and precision, as life in the United States is coming, and therefore, approved safe communication routes are used.”
Republican senators face a series of problems. Many say they are worried, but most people withheld the verdict until they can receive a full briefing.
“There is no doubt that it seems wrong,” said Roger Wicker, a Republican of Mississippi. “We will do our best to achieve the truth and take appropriate action.”
Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican of the Pennsylvania Intelligence Commission, said on CNN that his team will send inquiries to the Office of the Director of the National Intelligence Agency and then determine whether a comprehensive investigation is necessary.
But Mike Johnson, the speaker of Louisiana Republican, dismissed the idea of additional investigation or discipline for participating officials. “I was told they were conducting an investigation to understand how to include the number, which should be,” Johnson told the Capitol reporter. “I'm not sure if this requires more attention.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr. Trump said he knew nothing about the Atlantic articles. “I know nothing about it, it's the first time you told me,” he said.
The Pentagon forwards questions about the article to the National Security Council. Mr. Heggs traveled to Hawaii on Monday, the first stop of his week-long trip to Asia. He spoke to the reporter he traveled with after landing in Hawaii, calling Mr. Goldberg a “so-called journalist” and said in pressure: “No one is sending a texting plan, that’s all I need to say.”
But the White House seems to be in conflict with him. “At the moment, the reported message thread seems to be real, and we are reviewing how to add unintentional numbers to the chain,” National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in an emailed statement. He said the thread “indicates a profound and thoughtful policy coordination among senior officials.”
State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce said in a press conference that she would not comment on Mr. Rubio’s “deliberation dialogue” and asked further questions to the White House.
The group chat also included Mr Vance's objection, who called the timing of Yemen's action “error”. He and Mr. Heggs both argued in the chat that European countries benefited from the U.S. Navy’s efforts to protect transport lanes from Houthi attacks.
“I'm not sure how inconsistent the President is now with his information about Europe,” Mr. Vance wrote before the action. He said he was “willing to support the consensus of the team and keep a close eye on himself.”
But he added: “I just hate to put European bail again.”
Mr. Heggs replied: “I totally share your dislike for European free loading. It's sad.” But, he said: “I think we should go.”
Mr. Trump repeatedly said in his first semester that his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who used a private email server to communicate with her employees and others while she was Secretary of State, should be imprisoned. Mr. Waltz posted on social media in June 2023: “Biden's current national security adviser Jake Sullivan sent top secret messages to Hillary Clinton's private account. What did DOJ do about it? Not damn.”
Mr. Heggs had many television appearances before becoming Secretary of Defense and also used a private email server for Mrs. Clinton. These criticisms reappeared throughout social media on Monday. “Hey @petehegseth_dod, is this you?” Read an article, accompanied by a video of Mr. Heggs at Fox Business, saying that Mrs. Clinton “betrayed her country” for “convenience.”
Mrs. Clinton’s character reposted the Atlantic story on social media: “You must be kidding.”
Reported by Michael Crowley,,,,, Adam Goldman,,,,, Maya C. Miller and Minho Kim.
