On Wednesday, The Atlantic released the full text thread from the Trump administration's Signal group, which inadvertently included a well-known journalist in discussions related to impending U.S. military strikes. This incident has raised significant questions regarding the handling of sensitive information and the implications of non-secure communications within the government.
Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, had previously withheld parts of the text thread in his initial report published on Monday. This report revealed that he was looped into discussions concerning plans for potential attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen. According to Goldberg, some messages contained sensitive information that, if accessed by adversaries, could jeopardize the safety of American military and intelligence personnel.
However, after President Donald Trump and other members of the group asserted on Tuesday that none of the messages were classified and did not contain actual war plans, The Atlantic decided to publish the full text. The released texts, which pertain to the Houthi PC small group, are mostly unredacted, with the exception of the name of one CIA intelligence officer, as stated by the publication.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt focused on the magazine's choice to label the thread as "Attack Plans" instead of "war plans." Leavitt commented, “The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT war plans.” She described the entire story as a “hoax” orchestrated by a journalist with a history of sensationalist reporting.
Goldberg responded to these claims during an MSNBC interview, expressing confusion over the administration's argument. "What are they arguing, that an attack is different than a war? She's playing some sort of weird semantic game," he stated, highlighting the ambiguity surrounding the terminology used in the discussions.
The veracity of the Signal group has been confirmed by key figures in the Trump administration. Both Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who were part of the group, testified in the Senate on Tuesday that the texts were not classified. Trump echoed this sentiment, asserting, “It wasn't classified information.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also noted, “Nobody was texting war plans. And that's all I have to say about that.”
Additionally, Trump's national security advisor Michael Waltz, who reportedly added Goldberg to the group, suggested during a Fox News interview that the journalist might have intentionally inserted himself into the conversation. However, Waltz did not provide any evidence to support this claim, mentioning discussions with Elon Musk about the incident.
Goldberg emphasized the public's right to access the texts, stating that the comments from Trump and his advisors compel the need for transparency. “There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in non-secure communications channels,” he argued. This transparency is particularly crucial as senior administration figures attempt to downplay the significance of the messages exchanged.
This story is still developing, and readers are encouraged to check back for updates as more information becomes available.
