In an unprecedented security lapse, Trump administration officials accidentally included a prominent journalist in a confidential Signal chat discussing planned military strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels—just hours before the bombs dropped.
The astonishing breach occurred on March 15 when Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, suddenly found himself receiving real-time messages about imminent military action through the encrypted messaging app. At first, Goldberg suspected a hoax, telling The Atlantic: “I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans.”
But the National Security Council later confirmed the messages were authentic, exposing a stunning disregard for protocol. Government officials are strictly prohibited from using commercial platforms like Signal to discuss classified operations.
Why This Matters
- Major Security Risk: Signal lacks government-grade security protocols for sensitive communications
- Unprecedented Breach: Never before has a journalist been accidentally included in live military planning
- Pattern of Carelessness: Highlights ongoing concerns about the Trump administration’s handling of classified information
Goldberg, who did not publish the operational details, called it “a breach like nothing I’ve ever seen.” The incident raises serious questions about how securely America’s most critical decisions are being communicated.
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