President Donald Trump has revealed that a staff member from National Security Advisor Mike Waltz's office was responsible for inadvertently adding Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to a Signal group chat containing senior Trump administration officials. This group chat discussed U.S. military plans against Houthi rebels in Yemen, leading to a significant security breach.

The incident began when Goldberg was added to the "Houthi PC small group" chat on March 13, where high-ranking officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, were discussing sensitive military operations. The chat included operational details about upcoming strikes, which were later confirmed by the timing of explosions in Yemen. Goldberg was part of the chat for four days before removing himself.

President Trump, in a phone interview with NBC News, stated that the inclusion of Goldberg in the chat was a mistake by one of Waltz's staffers and had "no impact at all" on the military operations. Trump defended Waltz, stating, "Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man."

The use of Signal, an encrypted messaging app, for discussing military operations has raised concerns among national security officials. The app is not approved for sharing classified information, and its use in this context has been criticized for potentially exposing sensitive information to foreign hackers.

Despite the controversy, President Trump has not indicated plans to fire anyone involved, and the White House is reviewing how the journalist's number was added to the chat.

The incident has sparked outrage from some lawmakers, with calls for those involved to testify before Congress.

AgHub.net