Trump denies knowledge of U.S. officials accidentally sharing Yemen war plans with journalist

Editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported that the messages included “operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, including targets, weapons, and attack sequencing.” It remains unclear whether the information was classified, though military plans are typically restricted for security reasons.

Pete Hegseth dismisses claims

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed claims that sensitive Yemen war plans were discussed in a Signal group chat that mistakenly included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg. Hegseth called Goldberg “a deceitful” and “highly discredited so-called journalist.”

“Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that,” Hegseth insisted when questioned about the alleged leak.

Goldberg swiftly responded, calling Hegseth’s statement “a lie.” Speaking to CNN, he said, “He was texting war plans, he was texting attack plans.”

Goldberg detailed the messages he received, stating, “When targets were going to be targeted. How they were going to be targeted. Who was at the targets. When the next sequence of attacks was happening.” He added that he chose not to publish the information because “it felt like it was too confidential.”

The leak occurred just hours before the U.S. launched airstrikes on Houthi targets on March 15. The National Security Council is investigating how Goldberg’s number was added to the group chat on Signal, an app used by government officials for communication but not for classified material.

The breach comes as Hegseth’s office announced a crackdown on leaks, including potential polygraph tests for defence personnel. Meanwhile, Sean Parnell, a spokesman for Hegseth, did not comment on why sensitive war plans were shared on an unclassified platform.