Yemen war plan 'leak': Donald Trump reveals how journalist was added to group chat, calls it 'only glitch in two months'

United States President Donald Trump - File Photo

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday downplayed the Yemen war plan ‘leak’ incident, where The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat discussing airstrike plan against the Houthis.

Addressing the security breach incident, he said it was “the only glitch in two months” of his administration as Democratic lawmakers heaped criticism on the administration for handling highly sensitive information carelessly.

Trump told NBC News that the lapse “turned out not to be a serious one," and expressed his continued support for national security adviser Mike Waltz.

He said the breach likely occurred when a junior staff member working for national security advisor Mike Waltz inadvertently added Goldberg to the Signal group discussing military operations against the Houthis.

“And what it was, we believe, it somebody that was on the line with permission; somebody that was with Mike Waltz – worked for Mike Waltz at a lower level – had, I guess, Goldberg’s number or called through the app, and somehow this guy ended up on the call. Now it wasn’t, as I understand it. There was no classified information. There was no problem, and the attack was a tremendous success,” Trump said in an interview with Newsmax.

The use of messaging app Signal to discuss a sensitive operation has opened the administration to blistering criticism from Democratic lawmakers who expressed outrage at the White House's and senior administration officials' insistence that no classified information was shared. Senior administration officials have struggled to explain why the publicly available app was used to discuss such a delicate matter.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe has confirmed that he was part of the Signal group chat. He, however, maintained that no classified information was exchanged in the group chat, aligning with the administration's stance. He emphasized that his contributions to the conversation were "completely allowed and legal" and did not involve any classified material.