Yemen strike plans shared with journalist by mistake

The Trump administration has been accused of a gross breach of security after the editor of The Atlantic was included in a group chat with top officials and cabinet secretaries outlining plans to strike the Houthis in Yemen.

- GUSTAF KILANDER ANDREW FEINBERG

Two days before American warplanes struck targets associated with Iran-backed militants who had been attacking cargo ships and bottlenecking international trade in key sea lanes, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz appears to have started a group chat to talk about plans for the airstrikes with key officials.

The former Green Beret turned Florida congressman, who resigned in January to serve as Donald Trump’s top national security aide, used Signal, a common encrypted messaging app, for a group chat with colleagues on the National Security Council’s “principals committee”.

Secretary of state Marco Rubio, vice-president JD Vance, the director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, and CIA director John Ratcliffe all appeared to be part of the group chat. Others seemingly included were Mr Trump’s Middle East and Ukraine negotiator, Steve Witkoff, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller.

And somehow, Mr Waltz appears to have added one more person: Jeffrey Goldberg, the veteran journalist who currently serves as editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.

In an explosive report, Mr Goldberg reveals how he unwittingly got an inside look at how Mr Trump’s team began outlining their plans to bomb the Houthis in Yemen earlier this month on the encrypted app rather than any manner of official communications channels available to top government officials.

According to Mr Goldberg, he received a connection request on Signal from a user called Michael Waltz on 11 March, presumably the very same Mike Waltz who serves as Mr Trump’s national security adviser. The journalist wrote in a lengthy piece for