Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth strongly rejected allegations that he mishandled classified information following revelations of a private Signal chat involving top Trump administration officials, which inadvertently included a journalist.
Hegseth insisted, “nobody was texting war plans,” in response to the report published by Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, detailing discussions about potential airstrike targets in Yemen against Houthi fighters.
“You’re talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes,” an uncharacteristically angry Hegseth said about Goldberg. “This is a guy who peddles in garbage.”
Despite Hegseth’s denials, National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes confirmed the chat’s existence, stating, “At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.”
The Signal chat group included several senior officials, such as Vice President JD Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. It was reportedly initiated by Waltz to discuss strategic options ahead of recent military actions against the Iran-backed Houthis.
This incident raised significant concerns over operational security within the administration. White House officials reportedly questioned Waltz’s continued role following these revelations.
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, strongly criticized the security breach, calling it “one of the most egregious failures of operational security and common sense I have ever seen.”
Defense officials expressed deep concern over the incident, though Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell did not immediately provide comments on the situation.
