Following denials by US President Donald Trump, the White House and several top officials that no classified information was shared in the messaging group discussing plans of an attack on the Houthis in Yemen on March 15, The Atlantic has shared the full text of the chats, including screenshots, highlighting that it had received very specific information more than two hours before the start of the bombing.
This information and particularly the exact times US aircraft were taking off for Yemen, the magazine emphasised, would have exposed American pilots and other personnel to “even greater danger” if they had fallen into the wrong hands.
The Atlantic’s Editor In Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently invited to the group chat on the Signal messaging app in which the bombing plans were being discussed. The chat reportedly included Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Hegseth, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio, Director Of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and others.
Explaining its rationale for putting out details of the chat in a new report on Wednesday, The Atlantic pointed out that Hegseth had claimed “nobody was texting war plans” and Trump and others had said “it wasn’t classified information”.
The article, written by Goldberg and staff writer Shane Harris, said this presented a dilemma for The Atlantic. The magazine, it said, withheld specific information in an earlier report on weapons and the timing of the attack in keeping with its general rule to avoid publishing information about military operations that could jeopardise the lives of US personnel.
“The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump – combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts – have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions. 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,” the magazine said.
The Atlantic said it asked various officials whether they objected to the full text of the chat being shared and got a response from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who reiterated that no classified information was shared but that does not mean “we encourage the release of the conversation”.
“This was intended to be a an (sic) internal and private deliberation amongst high-level senior staff and sensitive information was discussed. So for those reason (sic) – yes, we object to the release,” the report quoted Leavitt as responding.
‘Threat To National Security’
The magazine said experts had repeatedly told them that using a Signal chat for such sensitive discussions “poses a threat to national security” and pointed out that Goldberg had received information on the attacks two hours before the scheduled start of the bombing.
“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. The Trump administration is arguing that the military information contained in these texts was not classified – as it typically would be – although the president has not explained how he reached this conclusion,” Goldberg and Harris wrote.
Aircraft Information
At 11.44 Eastern Time, Hegseth wrote that F-18s which made up the first strike package would launch at 12.15 ET and that a Houthi “Target Terrorist” was expected to be attacked at 13.45 ET – over two hours after the message was sent.
Pointing to the possible consequences of this, the magazine 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.”
At 14.10 ET, more F-18s were expected to launch and the second strike was to start at 15.36, with sea-based Tomahawk missiles also being launched, Hegseth wrote.
“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,” the defense secretary wrote.
“I will say a prayer for victory,” Vice President Vance wrote soon after.
At 13.10, Waltz shared details of an attack site, apparently in Sanaa, writing, “The first target – their top missile guy – we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend’s building and it’s now collapsed.”
“Excellent,” Vance replied, and Waltz later sent a text with fist, fire and American flag emojis.
Damage Control
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes had said on Monday that the chat cited by The Atlantic appeared to be “authentic” but Vance had accused the magazine of “overselling” the story.
The scandal is being seen as one of the biggest challenges Trump and his administration have faced since the billionaire returned to power two months ago. There have also been calls for Hegseth and Waltz to resign over the leak.
After Wednesday’s article was released, Waltz reiterated that no war plans were leaked and stressed that the bottom line was that Trump was protecting the US and its interests.
No locations.
No sources & methods.
NO WAR PLANS.
Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent.
BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests.
— Mike Waltz (@MikeWaltz47) March 26, 2025
“No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS. Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests,” Waltz wrote.
Press Secretary Leavitt also argued that the Atlantic had conceded that no war plans were released and said the story was a hoax.
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
Sharing a screenshot of the report, “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.”