The Trump administration has confirmed that a text thread, reportedly detailing war plans and accidentally including a journalist from The Atlantic, "appears to be authentic."
In an article published Monday, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, detailed how on March 11, he received a connection request on the encrypted app Signal from a user identified as Michael Waltz.
Goldberg said accepted the connection, despite not being sure if it was actually from the president's adviser.
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In the days that followed, Goldberg said he was added to a group chat titled "Houthi PC small group." The group of about two dozen individuals included users who identified themselves as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Waltz, Goldberg writes.
The users discussed policy considerations about a strike on Iran-backed Houthi rebels. At one point, the account tied to Vance expressed hesitation about the strikes, but ultimately stated he would "support the consensus of the team."
Goldberg said a subsequent message from Hegseth "contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing."
Knowing the attack was set for March 15 at around 1:45 p.m., Goldberg said he parked at a supermarket and checked X for reports of bombings in Yemen.
"At about 1:55, I checked X and searched Yemen," he wrote. "Explosions were then being heard across Sanaa, the capital city."
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Goldberg said a short time later, users in the group chat started congratulating each other. He added that he removed himself from the group chat after coming to the conclusion that it was likely legitimate.
In a statement to Scripps News, National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said, “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.”
Vance's communications director, William Martin, told Scripps News, “The Vice President’s first priority is always making sure that the President’s advisers are adequately briefing him on the substance of their internal deliberations. Vice President Vance unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy. The President and the Vice President have had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement.”
Defense Secretary Hegseth acknowledged the story on Monday but pushed back against its details.
"Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that," Hegseth said.
He further called The Atlantic's Goldberg a "deceitful and highly discredited 'so-called journalist.'"
President Donald Trump was asked about Goldberg's article on Monday. He said, "I know nothing about it."
Later in the day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated President Trump was aware of the strikes.
"As President Trump said, the attacks on the Houthis have been highly successful and effective. President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz," Leavitt said in a statement.
