Goldberg writes in an article that the US national security adviser Mike Waltz added him to a group chat in the encrypted messaging service Signal. There, Defense Minister Pete Hegseth allegedly sent text messages to the group on the morning of March 15 with attack plans against the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen. About two hours later, the plans were put into action.
The White House confirms the incident.
We are reviewing how a number was inadvertently added to the chain, says Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the US National Security Council.
Trump unaware
President Donald Trump, on the other hand, says he is completely unaware of the security breach.
I know nothing about it, he says at a press conference after being asked by a reporter two and a half hours after the news began to spread on Monday evening, Swedish time.
This is the first I've heard of it.
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later states that Trump "continues to have the utmost confidence" in his security advisers, including Waltz.
Democrat Chuck Schumer, minority leader in the Senate, demands an investigation into what happened.
This is one of the most astounding leaks of military intelligence that I've read about in a very, very long time. This debacle requires a full investigation, he says in the Senate.
Even the Senate majority leader, Republican John Thune, reacts.
Of course, we must get to the bottom of this, he says.
The text messages that Jeffrey Goldberg took part in contained, among other things, information about targets, time, and what types of weapons the US intended to use.
Did not want to "save Europe again"
The day before the Yemen attack, on March 14, Goldberg could also read messages from someone who identified himself as Vice President JD Vance. He was hesitant about the attacks because he did not want to "save Europe again", as European countries are considered more affected than the US by the Houthi movement's attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
Both Mike Waltz and Pete Hegseth responded by saying that only Washington has the capacity to carry out such an attack, while Hegseth emphasized that he shared Vance's "disgust at European freeloaders".
It is unclear whether the information about the military operation was classified, but often it is.
The news comes at the same time as Hegseth's defense department has just launched a effort to address leaks of sensitive information to, for example, the media.
