- The magazine said it was now publishing the details after the Trump administration confirmed their authenticity and denied they contained any classified information.
WASHINGTON: The Atlantic magazine on Wednesday published what it said was the full text of a chat group mistakenly shared with a reporter by senior U.S. national security officials outlining plans for an imminent attack on Yemen.
The startling details, including the timing of the strikes and the types of aircraft used, were laid out in screenshots of chats the officials conducted on the commercial messaging app Signal, rather than on a secure government platform.
The magazine, which initially published only outlines of the conversation, said it was now publishing details after the Trump administration confirmed its authenticity and repeatedly denied that it included any classified information.
The scandal has rocked President Donald Trump's administration, which has so far responded defiantly, attacking The Atlantic and denying any wrongdoing.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said Monday that the network cited by The Atlantic appears to be “genuine.”
However, Vice President J.D. Vance, who was present at the Signal chat, said The Atlantic had “over-reported” the story, and White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said “the whole story is another hoax.”
National Security Adviser Mike Walz also insisted that the Signal network revealed “NO locations” and “NO MILITARY PLANS.”
But the depth of detail in the published chat will spark a furious outcry from Democrats in Congress, who accuse Trump officials of incompetence and of jeopardizing U.S. military operations.
The House of Representatives was scheduled to discuss the scandal at a hearing on Wednesday.
The story first broke on Monday, when The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent information in a Signal chat about impending strikes against Houthi rebels on March 15.
For unknown reasons, Goldberg's phone number was added to a group that also included Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe and others.
Goldberg also revealed disparaging remarks made by senior US officials towards European allies during their conversation.
The Atlantic initially did not publish the exact details of the conversation, saying it did not want to reveal classified material or information that could endanger American troops.
But Ratcliffe and other officials involved in the chat sought to downplay the scandal on Tuesday, testifying before Congress that no sensitive information was shared, no laws were broken, and that none of the discussions were classified.
Trump himself called the leak a “glitch” and said there was “no classified information.”
The Atlantic said Wednesday that it had therefore asked the government whether there would be any problems releasing the rest of the material. It had received no firm indication to the contrary.
On Wednesday, The Atlantic reported that its full publication included the entire Signal chain except for one CIA name, which the agency asked not to disclose.
In a text discussion, Hegseth outlines the weather conditions, timing of the attacks, and types of aircraft used.
The message was sent just half an hour before the first American warplanes took off and two hours before the first target, dubbed “Terror Target,” was supposed to be bombed.
The details are remarkably precise for the kind of operation that the public usually learns about only later – and in more vague terms.
“14:10: LAUNCH MORE F-18s (second strike package),” Hegseth writes at one point.
“1415: Strike drones on target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY FALL, depending on earlier “trigger-based” targets).”
Shortly after, Trump's national security adviser Mike Walz sent out a real-time update on the aftermath of the attack, writing, “Building collapsed. Multiple positive identifications made” and “amazing work.”
The Houthis, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of an “axis of resistance” of pro-Iranian groups that are staunchly opposed to Israel and the United States.
The Trump administration has stepped up attacks on the group in response to the Houthis' repeated attempts to sink and disrupt shipping through the strategic Red Sea.
