In what officials are calling an unprecedented breach of national security, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly disclosed classified U.S. military plans in a private group chat just hours before American forces launched strikes against the Houthi militia in Yemen.
The disclosure, which occurred on the encrypted messaging app Signal, included participants outside of the secure government communication channels typically used for such sensitive discussions. Among those inadvertently included in the group chat was Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, who was mistakenly added to the conversation.
According to Goldberg, who later detailed the incident in an article published Monday, he was added to the Signal thread by Michael Waltz, the national security adviser. Goldberg said he had no prior knowledge of the group’s existence or its sensitive content until he began receiving messages that revealed imminent military actions.
The leak reportedly occurred just two hours before U.S. troops carried out coordinated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. The operation was a part of the Biden administration’s broader strategy to deter Iranian-backed militant threats in the region.
“This represents a significant breakdown in protocol and raises serious concerns about the safeguarding of classified information,” a senior intelligence official told reporters under the condition of anonymity.
Security experts and members of Congress have already begun calling for an investigation into how and why such a serious lapse occurred — particularly with someone as high-ranking as the Defense Secretary involved.
The White House confirmed that the chat did not occur through secure, government-authorized communication systems, an alarming departure from standard procedures for military planning and operational security.
Neither Hegseth nor Waltz has publicly commented on the situation as of Tuesday morning. Legal analysts suggest that if found in violation of federal laws regarding the handling of classified material, there could be significant legal and political consequences.
This incident adds to growing concerns about the vulnerabilities in communication practices at the highest levels of the U.S. government and underscores the importance of adhering to secure protocols in the digital age.