Series of slips saw journalist added to top US defence chat

A journalist was added to a top-secret group chat after Donald Trump's national security adviser mistakenly saved his number under a different contact, according to three sources briefed on the matter.

- Hugo Lowell

Jeffrey Goldberg was sent messages by top US officials about plans for US strikes in Yemen on the Signal messaging app after he was added to the group by Mike Waltz. The misstep was one of several that came to light in the White House's internal investigation, which showed a series of slips that started during last year's presidential election campaign.

The US president briefly considered firing Waltz over the episode, angered more by the fact that Waltz had the number of Goldberg, the editor of the Atlantic - a magazine he despises - than the fact that the military operation discussion had taken place on an unclassified system.

Initially Waltz earned a reprieve after he took responsibility. Trump reportedly decided against firing him in large part because he did not want the media to have the satisfaction of forcing the ousting of a top official so soon into his second term.

The disclosures nonetheless triggered a "forensic review" by the White House information technology office, which found that Waltz had saved Goldberg's number as part of an unlikely series of events that started when Goldberg emailed the Trump campaign in October.