White House mistakenly shares Yemen war plans with a journalist at The Atlantic

Record ID: 1986578

  • Title: White House mistakenly shares Yemen war plans with a journalist at The Atlantic
  • Date: 25th March 2025
  • Summary: UISEONG, SOUTH KOREA (MARCH 27, 2025) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WATCHING FIREFIGHTING HELICOPTER DROP WATER ON MOUNTAIN WILDFIRE WILDFIRE ON MOUNTAIN VARIOUS OF HELICOPTER APPROACHING AND DROPPING WATER ON WILDFIRE VARIOUS OF SMOKE AND FIRE ON MOUNTAIN VARIOUS OF HELICOPTER PICKING UP WATER FROM LAKE AND DISPATCHING VARIOUS OF HELICOPTER APPROACHING MOUNTAIN AND DROPPING
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Donald Trump Houthis JD Vance Jeffrey Goldberg Mike Waltz Pete Hegseth Signal Stephen Miller The Atlantic Yemen
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: North America,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA009136824032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Top Trump administration officials mistakenly disclosed war plans in a messaging group that included a journalist shortly before the United States attacked Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, the White House said on Monday (March 24), following a first-hand account by The Atlantic.
    Democratic lawmakers swiftly blasted the misstep saying it was a breach of U.S. national security and a violation of law that must be investigated by Congress.
    The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg said in a report on Monday that he was unexpectedly invited on March 13 to an encrypted chat group on the Signal messaging app called the "Houthi PC small group." In the group, national security adviser Mike Waltz tasked his deputy Alex Wong with setting up a "tiger team" to coordinate U.S. action against the Houthis.
    National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said the chat group appeared to be authentic.
    U.S. President Donald Trump launched an ongoing campaign of large-scale military strikes against Yemen's Houthis on March 15 over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, and he has warned Iran, the Houthis' main backer, that it needed to immediately halt support for the group.
    Hours before those attacks started, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted operational details about the plan in the messaging group, "including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing," Goldberg said. His report omitted the details but Goldberg termed it a "shockingly reckless" use of Signal chat.
    Accounts that appeared to represent Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and senior National Security Council officials were assembled in the chat group, Goldberg wrote.
    Joe Kent, Trump's nominee for National Counterterrorism Center director, was apparently on the Signal chain despite not yet being Senate-confirmed.
    Trump told reporters at the White House that he was unaware of the incident. "I don't know anything about it. I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic," Trump said. A White House official said later that an investigation was under way and Trump had been briefed on it.
    The NSC's Hughes said in a statement: "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 thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our servicemembers or our national security."
    (Production: Alexandra Sarabia)
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