A major security breach within the Trump administration has sparked outrage after it was revealed that senior national security officials discussed U.S. military strikes in Yemen on an encrypted messaging app—mistakenly adding a journalist to the chat.
According to The Atlantic, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz created a Signal group chat with Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe to coordinate airstrikes against Houthi militants. In a critical error, Waltz also added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who had access to the classified discussion before realizing the mistake and leaving the chat.
The messages reportedly contained sensitive details, including the timing of strikes, specific targets, and weapons to be deployed. Experts have called the mishap a severe security failure, warning that it violated standard protocols for handling classified intelligence.
Former officials and intelligence analysts have condemned the breach, with some suggesting it could be a violation of the Espionage Act. “They broke every known procedure for protecting operational material before a military strike,” a former intelligence official said.
The Pentagon prohibits the use of messaging apps like Signal for classified communications, citing the risk of foreign adversary surveillance. Western intelligence officials have also warned that such breaches could undermine trust among U.S. allies.
President Trump distanced himself from the controversy, telling reporters, “I don’t know anything about it.” Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers have called for a congressional investigation into the incident, with Rep. Jim Himes of the House Intelligence Committee describing it as a “brazen violation of national security laws.”
The leak has also reignited debates over government officials’ use of private communication channels, particularly among Republicans who previously criticized Hillary Clinton for using a private email server. As the fallout continues, security experts warn that the breach could have had catastrophic consequences if sensitive information had fallen into the wrong hands.
