Unintended insider glimpse into U.S. attack talks on Signal
The White House spokeswoman denied that "war plans" were discussed or that classified materials were exchanged on Signal. Karoline Leavitt also stated that Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of "The Atlantic," "is well-known for his sensationalist spin."
"The Atlantic" revealed that editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a group on Signal, where top U.S. officials — including Vice President J.D. Vance, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, and security advisor Michael Waltz — discussed plans for an attack on the Houthi rebellion in Yemen. Goldberg followed the conversations from March 11, and the strike occurred on March 15.
"Jeffrey Goldberg is well-known for his sensationalist spin. Here are the facts about his latest story: No 'war plans' were discussed. No classified material was sent to the thread," stated Leavitt on platform X.
She emphasized that the White House issued guidelines for platforms that senior officials of Donald Trump's administration can use to communicate "as safely and efficiently as possible."
The spokeswoman added that the White House "is looking into how Goldberg’s number was inadvertently added to the thread."
Referring to the topic that was discussed, Leavitt emphasized that for Donald Trump, the most important thing is that the attacks on Houthi fighters "were successful."
Embarrassment at the White House. Did Trump know nothing?
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth flatly denied sending plans for an attack on the Houthis in Yemen during the group discussion on Signal, even though earlier, the authenticity of the messages revealed by The Atlantic was confirmed by the National Security Council spokesperson.
In addition to sending plans and sensitive data about the operation in Yemen, Jeffrey Goldberg was able to observe discussions preceding the decision to strike. Skepticism was mainly expressed by Vice President J.D. Vance, who argued, among other things, that Europe would disproportionately benefit from it, as it relies much more on the trade routes through the Red Sea threatened by the Houthis.
"There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc," Vance wrote. "If you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again," he added.
Hegseth replied that Europe's "free-loading" is "pathetic," but noted that only the USA could conduct an operation on such a scale. Presidential advisor Stephen Miller responded that Trump had agreed to it, but "we soon [will] make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return," Miller said.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump briefly addressed the matter. During a press conference at the White House, journalists asked him about the mishap.
- Well it couldn’t have been very effective because the attack was very effective … I don’t know anything about it, you’re telling me about it for the first time - Trump said.
