Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday doubled down on his assertion that he didn’t share categorised plans to strike Houthi targets in a Sign group chat of Trump administration officers that was inadvertently shared with a journalist, who he claimed “has never seen a war plan.”
In a combative put up to the social platform X, Hegseth lambasted The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, for publishing the Sign group chat messages, through which the Pentagon chief relayed particulars about airstrikes in Yemen earlier this month that an preliminary article on the matter didn’t include, together with the particular timeline of the airstrikes and what weapons could be used.
The Atlantic stated it wished to make public the texts in order that readers may see them for themselves, on condition that Hegseth and different nationwide safety officers have accused Goldberg of mendacity in regards to the content material of the group chat in an try and discredit his reporting.
“No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information,” Hegseth stated in his put up.
The messages The Atlantic launched do present particular data associated to weapons used and the timing of assaults — together with the precise instances American F-18 fighter plane and MQ-9 drones took off for Yemen earlier than the March 15 airstrikes.
“This Signal message shows that the U.S. secretary of defense texted a group that included a phone number unknown to him—Goldberg’s cellphone—at 11:44 a.m. This was 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched, and two hours and one minute before the beginning of a period in which a primary target, the Houthi ‘Target Terrorist,’ was expected to be killed by these American aircraft,” Goldberg and nationwide safety and intelligence reporter Shane Harris wrote.
“If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests—or someone merely indiscreet, and with access to social media—the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds. The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic.”
“Those are some really sh**y war plans,” Hegseth stated in his put up. “This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an ‘attack plan’ (as he now calls it). Not even close.”
Hegseth’s response follows the argument from different Trump administration officers, together with White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who’ve latched on to The Atlantic labeling the Sign messages an “attack plan” in its newest headline relatively than a “war plan” in its earlier report.
Goldberg, in the meantime, has referred to as that argument semantics, and The Atlantic famous that the White Home opposed its publishing of the data.
Pentagon press secretary Sean Parnell additionally launched a press release Wednesday through which he referred to as The Atlantic reporters “hoax-peddlers” and stated the extra Sign chat messages “confirm there were no classified materials or war plans shared.”
Parnell insisted Hegseth’s messages have been “merely updating the group on a plan that was underway and had already been briefed through official channels.”
The Trump administration up to now few days has pushed arduous to downplay the importance of its prime nationwide safety officers texting such delicate data over the messaging app.
President Trump, when requested in regards to the new The Atlantic reporting throughout a radio interview, insisted there weren’t particulars within the launched chat that compromised something, repeating that it was “really not a big deal.”
Vice President Vance stated in a put up to X that Goldberg “oversold what he had.”
And nationwide safety advisor Michael Waltz, who admitted Tuesday night that he had mistakenly added Goldberg to the chat, stated there have been “No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS,” within the printed texts.
That hasn’t placated a number of lawmakers, together with Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who on Wednesday referred to as for Hegseth to be fired or resign.
Some within the GOP, in the meantime, have referred to as for an investigation into the data breach, with Senate Armed Companies Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) on Wednesday saying he believes the data detailing the assault plan in opposition to the Houthis ought to have been categorised.
