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By Andrew Stanton
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Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, wrote in an article published Monday that he was accidentally included in a group chat in which high-profile Trump administration officials discussed sensitive U.S. military plans.
Why It Matters
Goldberg wrote that officials discussed in the group chat highly sensitive and classified details about the Pentagon's plan to carry out military air strikes against the Houthis, sparking criticism about the administration's handling of this critical information.
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What to Know
Goldberg wrote that he received a Signal connection request from an individual identified as Michael Waltz, who serves as Trump's national security adviser. He wrote that he accepted the request, hoping it was the actual Waltz and not someone "masquerading" as him.
He wrote that two days later, on March 13, he was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat called "Houthi PC small group" in which several administration officials discussed plans for the attack.
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On March 15, an individual identified as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent an update disclosing "operational details" of the strike which would be heard at 1:45 p.m. ET, Goldberg wrote, noting that he saw media reports of the strike at 1:55 p.m. ET.
Who is Jeffrey Goldberg?
Goldberg is a journalist who has written for The Washington Post, The Jerusalem Post, The New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker, where he served as a Middle Eastern and Washington correspondent before he started at The Atlantic in 2007.
He became the magazine's editor-in-chief nine years later in 2016.
He has received several rewards for his work, including the National Magazine Award for reporting and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Prize for investigative reporting, according to his biography for The Atlantic.
What Has Jeffrey Goldberg Said About Trump?
Goldberg has been critical of Trump in the past.
In 2024, he told CNN that he would not "participate in the normalization of Donald Trump", warning that "a second Trump term poses a threat to the existence of America as we know it."
"Our eyes and ears tell us that Donald Trump fomented an insurrection against the Constitution. Right? We saw it. We heard it. It happened. That means that he placed himself outside the norms of American democratic behavior. That is why I am comfortable devoting an entire issue of answering the question of what a second Trump term would look like and reaching the conclusion that it would be terrible. Absolutely terrible," he told CNN.
What is Signal?
Signal is a messaging app that offers "end-to-end encryption" to keep conversations secure. It touts itself as offering more privacy and security than other messaging apps, and it is commonly used by journalists to privately converse with sources.
What People Are Saying
The National Security Council (NSC) in a statement: "At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain. The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our servicemembers or our national security."
When reached by Newsweek, a Defense Department spokesperson pointed to the NSC.
The Nation columnist David Klion on X:"I'm fascinated by Goldberg's decision to leave the chat and report on its existence as opposed to lurking. Not saying it was the wrong decision, and can absolutely see why he did it, just wondering how other journalists accidentally granted such access might have made that call."
CNN host Christiane Amanpour on X: "OMG. Please read every last word of this shocker, including the emojis. Amateur hour? Is the president, is America, being properly served? Dangerous."
What Happens Next
How the Trump administration may be changed by the report remains unclear, but calls for accountability have begun on social media.
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