Leak in top-secret Signal chat in the US: how important was the published information
Kyiv • UNN
The Atlantic revealed details of US strikes on Yemen from a closed Signal chat of Trump's advisors. This happened after criticism from the administration regarding the leak of information.
The Atlantic magazine, whose editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg happened to be invited to a closed Signal chat with President Donald Trump's closest advisers, published additional information Wednesday morning from senior U.S. military and intelligence officials regarding strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen. This comes after officials in the Trump administration criticized the publication for its initial report, UNN reports, citing CNN and Reuters.
Details
According to screenshots of the chat published by The Atlantic on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegset sent a text message about the timing of a planned liquidation of a Houthi militant in Yemen on March 15, along with details of subsequent U.S. airstrikes. This is usually a closely guarded secret. Hegset has repeatedly denied sending text messages about military plans as the Trump administration tries to contain the fallout from the exposure.
The White House said the messages, which were made public by Michael Waltz's carelessness, did not contain classified information. Jeffrey Goldberg and Shane Harris of The Atlantic said these statements "led us to believe that people should see the texts to draw their own conclusions."
"There is an obvious public interest in disclosing the information that Trump's advisers included in unsecured communication channels. Especially since senior administration officials are trying to downplay the significance of the messages shared," they added.
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Goldberg said the magazine decided to remove sensitive information from its next article, published Wednesday, detailing additional text messages from the Signal group chat of senior Trump national security officials.
We redacted one piece of information because we ourselves thought it was better to do so. And the CIA asked us to, but, you know, at some point the administration says there's nothing secret, secret or confidential about it, so I just felt like let our readers decide for themselves
Responding to attacks from President Trump and his administration, Goldberg noted that it's a bit rude to invite him to their Signal chat and then be offended.
"You know, the simple truth is that on March 11, Michael Waltz sent me a request to join the Signal chat, and I accepted it," Goldberg explained.
What they were talking about in the closed chat
The information released by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegset in the Signal chat was highly classified at the time he wrote it, especially since the operation hadn't even started yet, a U.S. defense official said.
The updates Hegset provided in the Signal chat were like a real-time game the minister was giving to the president in a highly classified setting during the operation's deployment.
These are operational plans that are highly classified to protect military personnel
CNN military analyst, retired Colonel Cedric Leighton, said that the details contain "all the elements of a war plan, and that means that all these elements mean that these things are classified. Point. There is no doubt that it is classified."
Mick Mulroy, who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East from 2017-2019, said that "the information was clearly taken from the order of battle of a current operation in real time. It is highly secret and protected. Disclosure would compromise the operation and put lives at risk. Next to nuclear and covert operations, this information is the most protected."
What Waltz said
President Donald Trump's national security adviser Michael Waltz tried to downplay new details in the Signal group chat about the strikes in Yemen, saying the details didn't concern "war plans."
"No locations. No sources or methods. NO WAR PLANS," Michael Waltz wrote on social media after The Atlantic published additional messages, including an extremely detailed description of an upcoming strike using planes and drones.
Also, President Donald Trump insisted today that there was nothing in the encrypted chat between his aides that could "compromise" the attack plans in Yemen, although he said someone might have "screwed up."
There were no details and there was nothing there that would compromise and it did not affect the attack, which was very successful
He said this after The Atlantic magazine published an additional part of the chat discussion, including mentions by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegset of the specific timing and methods of airstrikes in Yemen.
It was a very, very successful attack
The US President called the episode a technical error, not a breach of classified information. Later, Trump said that journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was allowed into the chat by a "very innocent employee."
I think we'll figure this out very quickly. And it's really not a big deal
Earlier
On Tuesday, March 25, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden called for U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegset to resign over an "obvious breach of national security."
Let's remind
The editor of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg reported that he was accidentally added to a chat in Signal, where he witnessed a discussion of future attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen.
This caused a heated discussion in the White House: an investigation has been launched, and there is even talk that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz should be fired.
In turn, Donald Trump supported Mike Waltz after the incident with the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic getting into a closed chat where military plans were discussed. Trump said the situation did not affect the military operation.
