Washington (EFE).- Donald Trump’s administration inadvertently included a journalist from the United States media outlet The Atlantic in a private messaging group where members of the administration discussed attacks against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
A mistake, National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said on Monday, was being investigated.
Hughes said the messages revealed by Jeffrey Goldberg, the publication’s editor-in-chief, appeared to be “authentic” and that the government was looking into how an unexpected number was added to the chain, according to the Washington Post.
On Monday, Goldberg went public with his story in an article titled “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans,” where he explained in early March an account with the name “Mike Waltz,” White House security adviser included him in a conversation on Signal, an encrypted messaging service.
In addition to Waltz, the chat included accounts that appeared to belong to key figures such as Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and even Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, among others.
Two hours after Goldberg’s story was published, Trump claimed he did not know about the article published by The Atlantic.
“I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business. I think it’s not much of a magazine. But I know nothing about it,” he said when questioned by reporters.
In the conversation, an account with Hegseth’s name described the attacks against the Houthis in Yemen, with sensitive information such as the exact timing of the attacks or what kind of weapons would be used.
According to the journalist, the group was used not only for logistical purposes but also to discuss decisions.
In the conversation, the vice president argued that the Trump administration was making a mistake in launching the attack and expressed concern about the repercussions it could have in Europe.
Vance explained that the offensive could lead to an increase in oil prices and that the public might not understand why it was important.
According to Goldberg in the leaked chat, Hegseth said the message would be “tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded.”
“I had very strong doubts that this text group was real, because I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans,” he wrote in his article.
On Mar. 15, Goldberg confirmed the plans were real when, at the time described by the Defense Secretary, he saw reports on social media of explosions in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a.
“Having come to this realization, one that seemed nearly impossible only hours before, I removed myself from the Signal group,” Goldberg said. EFE
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