Days after The Atlantic revealed that top Trump administration officials shared specific timing and details of a military strike on Yemen in a Signal group chat that accidentally included The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffery Goldberg, the outlet revealed the full exchange, exacerbating the political firestorm in the US, which has already led to calls for heads to roll.
The messages, which contained detailed launch times of F-18 fighters and strike drones, have sparked concerns about operational security despite administration denials that classified information was compromised.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe all insisted that no classified information was shared in the Signal group chat. When questioned about the messages at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Gabbard stated, "There was no classified material that was shared in that Signal group."
President Donald Trump echoed this stance when asked about the matter, telling reporters, "It wasn't classified information," according to The Atlantic. The administration's denials prompted the publication to release the full text messages after initially withholding specific operational details.
However, The Atlantic published the full text messages on Wednesday. The messages show Secretary Hegseth shared precise timing information about the Yemen strike on March 15, writing at 11:44 a.m. Eastern time that F-18s would launch at 12:15 p.m., with the "first strike window" beginning at 1:45 p.m. The Atlantic pointed out this message was sent just 31 minutes before warplanes launched and about two hours before the planned attack on what Hegseth referred to as a "Target Terrorist."
After Hegseth's detailed operation timeline, Vice President J.D. Vance texted the group, "I will say a prayer for victory," The Atlantic reported. The exchange continued with real-time updates as the operation unfolded.
National Security Advisor Michael Waltz later shared real-time intelligence in the chat, writing, "Building collapsed. Had multiple positive ID." He later clarified they had a "positive ID of him [their top missile guy] walking into his girlfriend's building and it's now collapsed," to which Vice President J.D. Vance responded, "Excellent." CIA Director Ratcliffe then added, "A good start," followed by Waltz sending a message with fist, American flag, and fire emojis.
As the operation continued, Hegseth provided additional updates, writing, "CENTCOM was/is on point," and adding that "More strikes ongoing for hours tonight, and will provide full initial report tomorrow. But on time, on target, and good readouts so far."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt objected to The Atlantic publishing the messages, stating via email that while "there was no classified information transmitted in the group chat," it was "intended to be a an [sic] internal and private deliberation amongst high-level senior staff and sensitive information was discussed."
The security breach occurred when Waltz inadvertently added Goldberg to the Signal chat named "Houthi PC small group." Waltz said he was investigating "how the heck he got into this room," according to the report. Beyond Goldberg, the group comprised 19 members, with key participants such as Secretary Hegseth, National Security Advisor Waltz, CIA Director Ratcliffe, Vice President Vance, United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Deputy National Security Advisor Alex Wong, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Security experts warned that using Signal for such sensitive military discussions posed significant risks to national security, particularly since the information about aircraft launch times could have endangered American pilots had it reached hostile parties.
