WashingtonFor hours, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic was part of a Signal group where senior U.S. government officials discussed the March 15 bombings of Houthi targets in Yemen. Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg managed to get The White House accidentally leaked its war plans to him.: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz had mistakenly added him to the chat, and no one checked who the group members were, although confidential information was shared with very specific details about US military bases. President Donald Trump has already closed ranks this Tuesday with Waltz, who is in the eye of the storm.
The detailed discussion about military plans through a commercial application – when in principle they should be done through internal communication channels to avoid hacks– has sparked a storm in the White House, where several officials believe it is impossible for Waltz to survive the scandal. According to a senior official in Political, his future has been under discussion since midday on Monday. "Half of them don't think he can survive the scandal," explains the source, who believes it was completely "reckless" not to review the chat.
Even so, the one who will have the final say is President Donald Trump. Although he tried to distance himself from the scandal on Monday, on Tuesday he defended the national security adviser. "Mike Waltz has learned his lesson and is a good man," Trump said in statements to NBC. The president has asserted that the journalist's inclusion in the Signal chat was a "technical error" and has blamed the personnel working under Waltz.
Meanwhile, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard are appearing before the Senate this Tuesday during the annual Senate Intelligence Committee meeting. Gabbard and Ratcliffe were also in the Signal group where the plans were leaked. At the start of the session, the committee's vice chairman, Democrat Mark Warner, began his remarks by recalling the scandal and describing it as "simply mind-blowing."
"Putting aside for a moment that classified information should never be discussed on an unclassified system, I also find it mind-boggling that all of these high-level people were in this conversation and no one bothered to even check," Warner said. "Who is everyone? Who are they?"
Both Gabbard and Ratcliffe have denied that classified information was discussed in the Signal chat, and have attempted to distance themselves from responsibility for the journalist's presence in the group where Pentagon chief Hegseth shared information about the timing, targets, and weapons used for the bombing. This is sensitive information that can put the lives of troops on the ground at risk. Still, Ratcliffe denied that the chat leak was a "mistake."
Violation of law
Gabbard has repeatedly spoken out harshly about the leaks, a step in the White House's campaign of harassment against the press. In a post on X on March 14, the day before the bombing of the Houthis, Gabbard wrote: "Any unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a violation of the law and will be treated as such." Last week, the New York Times also reported that Elon Musk would be briefed on US war plans in the event of a conflict with China. The White House denied this, although Musk did visit the Department of Defense where, according to Hegseth, discussions were held on how to make the department more "efficient."
The Signal group included Gabbard, Waltz, and Ratcliffe, including Vice President J.D. Vance; Chief of Staff Susie Wiles; Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller; and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Both Wiktoff and Waltz are leading talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, and Wiktoff is also involved in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza.
"The world found out shortly before 2 p.m. on March 15, the United States bombed Houthi targets across Yemen.. I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs fell that the attack could come. The reason I knew this is because Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, had sent me a text message with the war plan at 11:44 a.m. The plan included precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing." This is how the text published Monday in The Atlantic, where he explains that the Trump administration's new defense chief mistakenly added him to the Signal group called "PC Houthi small group."
In the group, Waltz tasked his deputy, Alex Wong, with creating a "tiger team" to coordinate US action against the Houthis in Yemen, who are sabotaging ships in the Red Sea with the support of Iran and in solidarity with the Palestinians. Goldberg has refused to reveal the details of what he called an "extraordinarily reckless" use of Signal chat to coordinate the attack. Shortly after, the White House confirmed the chat's existence.
Leak reveals Trump administration's rejection of Europe
Beyond the national security scandal, the Signal chat leak has also highlighted the new US administration's reluctance to accept its longtime ally, Europe. Amid the discussion about plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen, Vice President J.D. Vance lamented how Europe would supposedly benefit and what the US should demand in return to restore navigation through the Red Sea strait.
"I'm not sure the president is aware of the inconsistency this has with his messaging on Europe right now. There's an additional risk that we could see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I'm willing to support the team's consensus and keep those concerns to myself. But there's a strong case for delaying it a month, doing the month, doing the month, doing the month.
After a few more text exchanges with the Secretary of Defense arguing that it was better not to wait, Vance caved: "If you think we should do it, let's go. I just hate to bail out Europe again." The Trump administration has said on other occasions that European allies benefit economically from the US Navy's protection of international shipping lanes. And Pete Hegseth replied: "I completely share your rejection of European freeloading. It's PATHETIC. But Mike [Waltz] is right, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the scale) who can do it. No one else is even close. The question is, the US's timing is right. I think we should do it, but the POTUS still has 24 hours to make the final decision."
Vance already made his disdain for Europe known when he attended the Munich Security Conference, although the chat highlights how the vice president's position is also shared by the head of the Pentagon and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who is specifically involved in the negotiations with Russia.
