‘Bailing Europe out again’: Journalist added to US Defence chat on Yemen strikes
The US launched a series of airstrikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa. The editor of The Atlantic knew about the strikes two hours before they happened. Photo / Getty Images
- US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth included a journalist in a group chat discussing strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
- The chat, confirmed by the White House, detailed targets and attack plans, leading to a security breach.
- The strikes, announced by President Donald Trump on March 15, occurred as outlined in the leaked messages.
The White House on Monday confirmed a journalist was included in a group chat in which United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top officials discussed upcoming strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
US President Donald Trump announced strikes on March 15, but in a shocking security breach, The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, wrote he had hours of advance notice via the group chat on Signal.
“The message thread that was reported appears to be authentic and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said.
Goldberg did not provide details of the plan, but wrote Hegseth sent information on the strikes, including on “targets, weapons the US would be deploying, and attack sequencing”, to the group chat.
