- Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren told Channel X that using Signal to discuss highly sensitive national security issues was “clearly illegal and incredibly dangerous.”
- The material in the text thread “contained operational intelligence about upcoming strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would deploy, and the sequence of attacks.”
WASHINGTON: Senior Trump administration officials mistakenly revealed military plans in a messaging group that included a journalist shortly before the US attacked Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the White House said Monday, based on first-hand information obtained by The Atlantic.
Democratic lawmakers immediately criticized the error, saying it was a breach of U.S. national security and a violation of the law that should be investigated by Congress.
The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported in a report Monday that he was unexpectedly invited on March 13 to an encrypted chat group on the messaging app Signal called the “Houthi PC small group.” In the group, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz tasked his deputy Alex Wong with creating a “tiger team” to coordinate U.S. action against the Houthis.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the chat group appeared to be genuine.
KEY POINTS
• Democratic lawmakers demand investigation into security breach
• Using Signal App for Privacy That Democrats Deem Illegal
• Defense Minister Hegseth said he would call European allies freeloaders
US President Donald Trump on March 15 launched a campaign of large-scale military strikes against Yemen's Houthis in response to the group's attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and warned Iran, the Houthis' main backer, to immediately stop supporting the group.
Hours before the attacks began, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted operational details of the plan in a messaging group, “including information about targets, the weapons the U.S. would deploy, and the sequence of attacks,” Goldberg said. His report left out the details, but Goldberg called it a “shockingly reckless” use of Signal.
Goldberg wrote that the chat contained accounts that appeared to represent Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and senior National Security Council officials.
Joe Kent, Trump's nominee to direct the National Counterterrorism Center, was apparently included in the Signal chain, despite his nomination not yet being confirmed by the Senate.
Trump told reporters at the White House that he was unaware of the incident. “I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic,” Trump said. A White House spokesman later said an investigation was underway and Trump had been briefed on it.
Hughes of the NSC said in a statement: “At this time, the reported message chain appears to be genuine and we are investigating how the unintended number was added to the chain.”
“This thread demonstrates deep and thoughtful policy coordination among senior officials. The continued success of the Houthi operation shows that there were no threats to our troops or our national security.”
Hegseth denied sharing war plans in the group chat.
“Nobody sent text messages with war plans, and that's all I can say about that,” he told reporters during an official visit to Hawaii on Monday.
“EUROPEAN FREE DOWNLOAD”
According to screenshots of the chat published by The Atlantic, officials in the group discussed whether the U.S. should carry out strikes, and at one point Vance appeared to question whether U.S. allies in Europe, which are more exposed to shipping disruptions in the region, deserved U.S. help.
“@PeteHegseth if you think we should do this, let’s go,” wrote a person identified as Vance. “I just hate having to save Europe again,” the person wrote, adding, “Let’s just make sure our messaging is clear here.”
A man identified as Hegseth responded: “VP: I completely share your disgust at European freeloading. It is PATHERETIC.”
According to the Atlantic, the man who identified himself as Vance also expressed concern about the timing of the strikes and said there was a strong case for delaying them for a month.
“I'm not sure the president realizes how out of sync this is with his current message on Europe. There is another risk that we will see a moderate to sharp spike in oil prices,” the account wrote, before saying it was willing to back the group's consensus.
Yemen, Houthi-backed Iran and the European Union's diplomatic service did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Under U.S. law, mishandling, misusing, or abusing classified information can be a crime, though it’s unclear whether those provisions were violated in this case. The messages, which The Atlantic report says were set by Waltz to disappear from the Signal app after a period of time, also raise questions about possible violations of federal records retention laws.
As part of the Trump administration's efforts to clamp down on officials leaking information to journalists not affiliated with the Signal group, Gabbard posted on X on March 14 that “any unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a violation of the law and will be treated as such.”
Gabbard is scheduled to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday about global threats to the United States.
Signal, created by entrepreneur Moxie Marlinspike, has gone from an exotic messaging app used by privacy-conscious dissidents to an unofficial whispering network for Washington officials.
Democratic lawmakers have called the use of the Signal group illegal and called for an investigation.
“This is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence that I've read about in a long, long time,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said, adding that he would ask Majority Leader John Thune to investigate.
“We're just learning about it. But obviously we need to get to the bottom of it and find out what happened. We'll have a plan,” said Thune, a South Dakota Republican.
The White House made no immediate statement that the leak would lead to any personnel changes.
“President Trump continues to have full confidence in his national security team, including National Security Adviser Mike Waltz,” White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told Reuters.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren told X that using Signal to discuss highly sensitive national security issues is “clearly illegal and incredibly dangerous.”
“Every single government official in this text message chain committed a crime — even if it was an accident — that would normally result in prison time,” Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said on X.
