Major US security blunder as Trump team shares top-secret war plans with journalist | BBC News

The White House has confirmed that a journalist was inadvertently added to an insecure group chat in which leading US national security officials and the Vice-President JD Vance debated and planned a military strike in Yemen.

The Atlantic magazine's Jeffrey Goldberg was included on a Signal message group with Vice-President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth among its members.

He saw classified military plans for US strikes on Houthi rebels, including precise details of weapons packages, targets and timing, two hours before the first bombs struck.

Goldberg said he was added to the message chain, apparently by accident, after receiving a connection request from someone who appeared to be White House National Security Adviser Michael Waltz.

President Donald Trump told reporters that he was not aware of the Atlantic article. "The attacks on the Houthis have been highly successful and effective," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz."

On 15 March the US launched what it described as a "decisive and powerful" series of air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. Four days earlier, on 11 March, Atlantic editor-in-chief Goldberg says he received the connection request on the encrypted messaging app Signal from an account that purported to be Mr Waltz's. Signal is used by journalists and Washington officials because of the secure nature of its communications, the ability to create aliases, and to send disappearing messages.

Two days later, Goldberg said he was added to a Signal chat entitled "Houthi PC small group." A number of accounts that appeared to belong to cabinet members and national security officials were included in the 18-person chat, Goldberg reported. Accounts labelled "JD Vance", the name of the vice-president; "Pete Hegseth," the defence secretary; and "John Ratcliffe," director of the Central Intelligence Agency; were among names in the chain.

Top national security officials from various agencies also appeared in it, including Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Clive Myrie presents BBC News at Ten reporting by North America Editor Sarah Smith in Washington.

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Post from BBC News on March 25, 2025

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