Yikes, Trump’s administration leaked secret Yemen war plans to The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief

Perhaps there’s not much to expect from a man who is capable of placing confidential United States files in his Mar-a-Lago bathroom. But according to an editor-in-chief from The Atlantic, President Trump’s own administration bested his feat.

“The world found out shortly before 2PM eastern time on March 15 that the United States was bombing Houthi targets across Yemen,” wrote Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic. The National Security Advisor, Michael Waltz, requested a connection with Goldberg on Signal Messenger.

Goldberg then alleged that he was invited in a group chat named “Houthi PC small group.” Goldberg claimed that there were a total of 18 members in the group chat. He also guessed the identities of the other group chat members. Marco Rubio (MAR), Vice President JD Vance (Andy Baker for VP), Tulsi Gabbard (TG), Scott Bessent (Dan Katz for Treasury), Stephen Miller (SM), and Pete Hegseth (Dan Caldwell for DoD) were his speculations for the codenames. Other notable figures in the group were Susie Wiles, John Ratcliffe, and Steve Witkoff—President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.

Goldberg was initially skeptical about the identities of the people in the group chat. But his skepticism waned when the alleged Pete Hegseth account sent a detailed plan for prospective strikes aimed at Yemen. This plan included targets, weapons, and attack sequencing. To verify this plan, Goldberg waited for the plans to transpire—and they did. On March 23, the United States launched air raids across Sanaa.

“A citizen was killed and 13 others were injured,” claimed the spokesperson from the Houthi-run Health Ministry, Anees Alasbahi. The attack on the Houthi rebels made Goldberg believe in the authenticity of the group chat.

A massive security blunder

Goldberg later confirmed through National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes that the group chat was official. “We are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” added Hughes.

CNN anchor Boris Sanchez commented, “I haven’t been able to read through all of it, but this seems like something out of a farce, like out of a comedy.” For the Trump administration’s senior officials, this is a massive security blunder. Fortunately, the figure added to the group chat wasn’t a foreign intelligence agent. Regardless, it doesn’t ease worries about national security given that an unauthorized entity gleaned private conversations between his senior advisors.

It’s recommended by the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) that senior officials use encryption apps for communicating sensitive information. Nevertheless, it doesn’t undo the fact that these officials failed to detect that the group chat was already compromised.