Jeffrey Goldberg says that 18 national security and cabinet officials – including Pete Hegseth, JD Vance and Marco Rubio – were added to the ‘Houthi PC small group’ chat
Your support helps us to tell the story
Support Now
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Both Democrats and Republicans are calling for action after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat as Trump administration officials hashed out secret war plans for an impending U.S. strike in Yemen.
Jeffrey Goldberg’s explosive report sparked outrage on both sides of the political aisle after he revealed that White House National Security adviser Mike Waltz appeared to have mistakenly invited him to an encrypted chat called the “Houthi PC small group” detailing the attack against the terrorist organizations, days before it occurred.
Some House Democrats are calling for the most severe repercussions against officials involved in the “outrageous” security breach.
“This is an outrageous national security breach, and heads should roll,” Pennsylvania Representative Chris Deluzio, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, told Axios.
“We need a full investigation and hearing into this on the House Armed Services Committee ASAP.”
Former House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the leak the most “horrifying incompetence’ that she has seen in 30 years of working with the intelligence community.
Former House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the leak “horrifying incompetence” in a message on Xopen image in gallery
Former House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the leak “horrifying incompetence” in a message on X (AFP via Getty Images)
California Representative Sara Jacobs, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said that the government “can’t just chalk this up to a simple mistake,” adding: “People should be fired for this.”
Under fire Senator Chuck Schumer tweeted after the leak became apparent: “These people are clearly not up for the job.”
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy tweeted in reference to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s attempted denial: “This is stunning. Don't let this become normal. They sent classified info to a journalist. It happened. The White House confirmed it. And here's the Secretary, viciously personally attacking the journalist and pretending it never happened. Trying to make us believe 2+2=7.”
Meanwhile, squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib largely disregarded the leak in her messaging. “More heat for using a group chat than for the bombing itself.”
Several House Republicans have also condemned those on the Signal group chat for divulging highly classified information through insecure channels.
“None of this should have been sent on non-secure systems. Russia and China are surely monitoring his unclassified phone,” Nebraska Representative Don Bacon, another Armed Services Committee member, told the outlet.
New York Representative Mike Lawler called for safeguards to be implemented to “ensure this never happens again.”
Mike Lawler said that safeguards should be put in place to stop similar security breaches from happening againopen image in gallery
Mike Lawler said that safeguards should be put in place to stop similar security breaches from happening again (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Wisconsin Representative Derrick Van Orden stated that if the breach was unintentional, there should be “administrative accountability” such as retraining, but should be held legally accountable if it was intentional.
Other former top Democrats have called on the president to take action against those involved in the security lapse.
Leon Panetta, who served as both the secretary of defense and director of the CIA under Barack Obama, said: “Somebody from The Atlantic got the most sensitive emails you can imagine at the federal level. That is a serious blunder. It has to be investigated. And somebody, frankly, needs to get fired.”
Pete Buttigieg, who served as Transport Secretary during the Biden administration, wrote on X Monday that “this is the highest level of f***up imaginable.”
“If there’s no accountability for a screw-up like this, especially from a president who used to fire people every day on television for sport, what are we even doing here?,” he told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Monday, referencing Trump’s previous career as a reality TV star on The Apprentice.
Other MAGA Republicans and Trump allies, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Fox News host Sean Hannity have rushed to downplay the severity of the lapse.
Pete Hegseth (right), pictured next to Donald Trump in the Oval Office this week, revealed the war plans to the Signal groupopen image in gallery
Pete Hegseth (right), pictured next to Donald Trump in the Oval Office this week, revealed the war plans to the Signal group (AFP via Getty Images)
Along with Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, were among others who appeared to be included in the Signal channel.
Goldberg wrote that Waltz invited him to connect on Signal on March 11. The journalist, who uses the encrypted messaging platform under his initials “JG,” said he was added to the group two days later. No one appeared alarmed—or even aware—about the mysterious interloper in the chat, he said.
Adding to the furor may be that officials seemingly failed to tip Trump off about Goldberg’s report before being questioned on TV by reporters in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon.
“Well, it couldn’t have been very effective because the attack was very effective,” the president said when probed about the group chat. “I don’t know anything about it; you’re telling me about it for the first time.”
Goldberg identified Waltz as inviting him to the chat. The advisor’s role does not need to be confirmed by the senate.
Hegseth looked agitated as he insisted to reporters that “nobody was texting war plans” before labeling Goldberg a “deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist.”
Vance appeared to disagree with Trump's wisdom on the strikes, noting: “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now.”