According to the publication, senior national security officials under US President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, exchanged text messages about plans for upcoming military action in Yemen in a group chat on a secure messenger that also included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.
The National Security Council confirmed that the text messages “appear to be authentic.”
As editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg noted, the content of the texts “included operational details of upcoming attacks on Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, including information on targets, weapons to be used, and attack procedures.”
It is unclear whether the details of a military operation are classified, but such information is often withheld to protect the military and ensure the safety of operations.
The US has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis since the group began attacking merchant and military vessels in the Red Sea in November 2023.
Just two hours after Mr. Goldberg received information about the plans for the March 15 attack, the United States began a series of airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
The National Security Council said in a statement that it was investigating how the journalist's number ended up in a Signal group message that included Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Mr. Goldberg said he received an invitation to Signal from Mike Waltz, Trump's national security adviser, who was also a member of the group chat.
In a statement late on Monday, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said the president continued to have “full confidence” in Mr. Waltz and the national security team.
Mr Trump told reporters he was not aware of any breach of protocol.
“I don’t know anything about that,” Mr. Trump said, adding that The Atlantic was “not a very reputable publication.”
He continued: “I didn't know anything about this. This is the first time you've told me about it.”
Government officials have used Signal for organizational communications, but the platform is not secret and can be hacked.
Privacy and technology experts say the popular end-to-end encrypted messaging and voice calling app offers greater security than regular text messages.
The exchange of confidential information comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office just announced measures to combat leaks of classified information, including the possible use of polygraphs to identify sources for journalists.
Sean Parnell, a spokesman for Mr. Hegseth, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on why the defense secretary published military operations in an unclassified annex.
The breach of protocol was immediately condemned by Democratic lawmakers.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for a full investigation.
“This is one of the most serious breaches of military intelligence that I have heard of in a long time,” Mr. Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a speech Monday afternoon.
“If this information is true, it represents one of the most egregious failures of operational security and common sense I have ever seen,” Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.
He added that American lives “are at risk. The recklessness shown by the Trump administration is astounding and dangerous. I will immediately seek answers from the administration.”
Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he was “shocked” by the information.
Mr. Himes noted that if a low-level official “had done what was described, he would likely have had his security clearance revoked and would have been subject to a criminal investigation. The American people deserve answers,” which he said he would get at a previously scheduled committee hearing in
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
