The Atlantic publishes more US military messages, intelligence leaders testify

• The Atlantic published details of a group chat among top cabinet members discussing a planned airstrike on Houthi targets in Yemen, including specific timelines for F-18 and drone strikes. The Atlantic defended its publication, citing public interest in revealing the information.
• Administration officials testified that the details were not classified, leading to criticism from Democrats who viewed it as an attempt to downplay the breach’s severity.
• The White House criticized the Atlantic’s reporting, accusing the magazine of sensationalism and labeling the story a “hoax.”

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On Wednesday, March 26, The Atlantic published more messages from a group chat among top cabinet members, inadvertently including the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.

The newly released messages ​discussed details of plans to bomb Yemen.

The publication initially withheld details of the strike plans, saying the information was sensitive.

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But at a Senate panel hearing on Tuesday, March 25, several administration officials said the information was not classified, which Democrats criticized as an attempt to downplay the seriousness of the breach.

What information did the messages include?

According to the Atlantic, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared the plans for conducting an airstrike on Houthi targets in Yemen in great detail.

• “1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”
• “1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)”
• “1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)”
• “1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)”
• “1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.”

Hegseth then messaged, “God speed to our warriors,” with Vice President JD Vance responding, “I will say a prayer for victory.”

When were the messages sent?

According to the Atlantic, they received that information two hours before the scheduled start of the bombing of Houthi positions.

“If this information — particularly the exact times American aircraft were taking off for Yemen — had fallen into the wrong hands in that crucial two-hour period, American pilots and other American personnel could have been exposed to even greater danger than they ordinarily would face,” Goldberg and fellow Atlantic journalist Shane Harris wrote Wednesday.

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz later texted to confirm that the target was in a building that collapsed and the strike was successful.

What has President Trump said about the release?

President Donald Trump commented on the Atlantic’s latest publication Wednesday during an appearance on “The Vince Show” with Vince Coglianese.

“There weren’t details, and there was nothing in there that compromised. And it had no impact on the attack, which was very successful,” Trump said.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, calling the information in the group chat “candid” and “sensitive” but not classified. 

Hegseth, President Trump and other officials have called out the Atlantic and Goldberg for the publishing of the messages. 

“They write stories, it’s such a disgrace there are plenty of others but Goldberg’s a loser,” Trump told Newsmax Tuesday. “His magazine’s a big loser.”

In a statement Wednesday, the Atlantic said it wanted to make the texts public so that people could see them for themselves, saying the White House opposed its publishing of the information.

“There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared.”

Statement from the Atlantic

How did the White House respond?

In a Wednesday morning social media post, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted the Atlantic headline called the signal messages an “attack plan” rather than a “war plan” and then criticized Goldberg directly.

“The Atlantic has conceded: these were not ‘war plans.’ This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin,” Leavitt wrote.

The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT “war plans.”

This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin. pic.twitter.com/atGrDd2ymr

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 26, 2025

Goldberg said on Wednesday the magazine decided to redact a sensitive piece of information out of their follow-up article.

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What is Signal?

The officials used the Signal app for messaging on the strike. The app employs end-to-end encryption to prevent any third party from viewing conversation content or listening in on calls.”

Now, there are questions about using Signal to discuss sensitive military operations, including its level of security against hackers.