Politics
Defense Sec. Hegseth shared military plans in group chat, calls for investigation
By Ray Bogan (Political Correspondent), Snorre Wik (Photographer/Editor)
- The White House confirmed the authenticity of a group chat in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed sensitive military plans regarding air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. A reporter revealed the news after National Security Adviser Mike Waltz inadvertently added him to a group chat.
- The security breach led to bipartisan calls for an investigation.
- Hegseth and Waltz have both been extraordinarily critical of Democrats who made similar mistakes with national security information.
Full Story
The White House confirmed the authenticity of a group chat in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed sensitive military plans regarding air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Media Landscape
See how news outlets across the political spectrum are covering this story. Learn more
Left 36%
Center 42%
Right 20%
Bias Summary
- An American magazine editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to a Signal chat where U.S. officials discussed military plans for Yemen, revealing sensitive operation details about impending airstrikes on Houthi targets.
- Goldberg expressed serious doubts about the authenticity of the chat, noting the recklessness of using Signal for sensitive discussions.
- The National Security Council confirmed the chat's legitimacy, acknowledging that all participants, including Goldberg, were inadvertently involved in a serious violation of confidentiality protocols.
- An American reporter was accidentally included in a group chat discussing airstrikes on Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis by officials in President Donald Trump's government, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
- Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, noted that many celebrated the strikes with messages like "good job" and "God bless."
- The White House confirmed the incident and stated they are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain, according to National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes.
- Goldberg was aware of the strikes two hours before they occurred, indicating a breach in communication protocol.
- President Donald Trump's senior national security officials accidentally shared sensitive strike plans about Yemen with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, via the Signal app.
- The National Security Council confirmed the text chain's authenticity and is investigating how the journalist was included.
- Goldberg stated that the leaked information could endanger American military personnel if accessed by adversaries.
- Democrats called for a full investigation into the incident, alleging a serious national security breach.
Bias Comparison
Media outlets on the left
frame the incident as a “jaw-dropping security fiasco” and evidence of “staggering incompetence” within the “Trump administration,” emphasizing potential legal violations like the Espionage Act and highlighting Goldberg’s prior critical reporting on Trump to suggest motive.
Media outlets in the center
adopt a more neutral tone, calling it a “shocking” breach.
Media outlets on the right
acknowle an “apparent security breach,” used terms such as “Trump-hating” to describe The Atlantic, casting doubt on the severity and intent by using phrases like “allegedly” and “sensitive information.
Report an issue with this comparison
Bias Distribution
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Untracked Bias
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371 other sources covering this story
Total News Sources
371
Leaning Left
90
Center
105
Leaning Right
51
Last Updated
1 month ago
Bias Distribution Powered by Ground News™
Who was accidentally added to the chat?
Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, revealed the news after he was inadvertently included in the chat. The chat also included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
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The security breach led to bipartisan calls for an investigation.
The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee said the story represents one of the most egregious failures of operational security and common sense he had ever seen.
“The carelessness shown by President Trump’s cabinet is stunning and dangerous,” Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a statement.
“Classified information should not be transmitted on unsecured channels — and certainly not to those without security clearances, including reporters,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., stated. “Safeguards must be put in place to ensure this never happens again.”
What did the chat look like?
According to Goldberg’s description of the events in The Atlantic, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz added Goldberg to a chat titled “Houthi PC small group.” Although he’s not certain why, he believes it could be because his initials in the app are JG, the same as Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative who attends national security meetings.
Goldberg also revealed Vice President Vance texted the group that he thought the air strikes were a mistake. Goldberg said they were inconsistent with President Trump’s political messages and that they could cause a spike in oil prices.
After a debate about optics, foreign policy and the politics behind this type of military operation, Secretary Hegseth shared details of when the strike would take place.
Hegseth then stated, “We are currently clean on OPSEC.” OPSEC stands for operations security.
Previous statements on similar incidents
Hegseth and Waltz have both been extraordinarily critical of Democrats who made similar mistakes with national security information.
“The people we rely on to do dangerous and difficult things for us rely on one thing from us: That we will not … be reckless with the dangerous things they are doing for us,” Hegseth said in 2016, referring to Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. “That’s the national security implications of a private server that’s unsecured.”
Mike Waltz wrote in 2023 that President Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan “sent Top Secret messages to Hillary Clinton’s private account. And what did DOJ do about it? Not a damn thing.”
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News of military plans being discussed on a commercial messaging app did not appear to put any of those involved in danger of losing their jobs.
“President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated.
[Ray Bogan]
The White House confirmed the authenticity of a group chat in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed sensitive military plans regarding air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The revelation was made by Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, after he was inadvertently included in the chat which included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
The security breach led to bipartisan calls for an investigation.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.: “This is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time. It’s bad enough that a private citizen was added to this chain…it’s far worse that sensitive military information was exchanged on an unauthorized app.”
“Classified information should not be transmitted on unsecured channels — and certainly not to those without security clearances, including reporters,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., stated. “Safeguards must be put in place to ensure this never happens again.”
According to Goldberg’s description of the events in The Atlantic, he was added to a chat titled “Houthi PC small group” by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Although he’s not certain why, he believes it could be because his initials in the app are JG, the same as Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative who attends national security meetings.
Goldberg also revealed the Vice President Vance texted the group that he thought the air strikes were a mistake and because they were inconsistent with other political messages he was sending and that they could cause a spike in oil prices.
After a debate about optics, foreign policy and the politics behind this type of military operation, Secretary Hegseth shared details of when the strike would take place.
Hegseth then stated – “We are currently clean on OPSEC.” That’s the acronym for operational security.
Hegseth and Waltz have both been extraordinarily critical of Democrats who made similar mistakes with national security information.
Pete Hegseth: “The people we rely on to do dangerous and difficult things for us rely on one thing from us: That we will not… be reckless with the dangerous things they are doing for us. That’s the national security implications of a private server that’s unsecured.”
Mike Waltz wrote in 2023 that President Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan “sent Top Secret messages to Hillary Clinton’s private account. And what did DOJ do about it? Not a damn thing.”
News of military plans being discussed on a commercial messaging app did not appear to put any of those involved in danger of losing their jobs.
“President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated.
Media Landscape
See how news outlets across the political spectrum are covering this story. Learn more
Left 36%
Center 42%
Right 20%
Bias Summary
- An American magazine editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to a Signal chat where U.S. officials discussed military plans for Yemen, revealing sensitive operation details about impending airstrikes on Houthi targets.
- Goldberg expressed serious doubts about the authenticity of the chat, noting the recklessness of using Signal for sensitive discussions.
- The National Security Council confirmed the chat's legitimacy, acknowledging that all participants, including Goldberg, were inadvertently involved in a serious violation of confidentiality protocols.
- An American reporter was accidentally included in a group chat discussing airstrikes on Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis by officials in President Donald Trump's government, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
- Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, noted that many celebrated the strikes with messages like "good job" and "God bless."
- The White House confirmed the incident and stated they are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain, according to National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes.
- Goldberg was aware of the strikes two hours before they occurred, indicating a breach in communication protocol.
- President Donald Trump's senior national security officials accidentally shared sensitive strike plans about Yemen with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, via the Signal app.
- The National Security Council confirmed the text chain's authenticity and is investigating how the journalist was included.
- Goldberg stated that the leaked information could endanger American military personnel if accessed by adversaries.
- Democrats called for a full investigation into the incident, alleging a serious national security breach.
Bias Comparison
Media outlets on the left
frame the incident as a “jaw-dropping security fiasco” and evidence of “staggering incompetence” within the “Trump administration,” emphasizing potential legal violations like the Espionage Act and highlighting Goldberg’s prior critical reporting on Trump to suggest motive.
Media outlets in the center
adopt a more neutral tone, calling it a “shocking” breach.
Media outlets on the right
acknowle an “apparent security breach,” used terms such as “Trump-hating” to describe The Atlantic, casting doubt on the severity and intent by using phrases like “allegedly” and “sensitive information.
Report an issue with this comparison
Bias Distribution
Click to close
Click to close
Click to close
Click to close
Click to close
Click to close
Untracked Bias
Click to close
371 other sources covering this story
Total News Sources
371
Leaning Left
90
Center
105
Leaning Right
51
Last Updated
1 month ago
Bias Distribution Powered by Ground News™
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