Pete Hegseth’s job is hanging by a thread after top secret war plans leaked to a journalist were released in full on Wednesday morning.
The Defense Secretary, who yesterday denied that any classified information was shared and even went as far to suggest that the chat was not legitimate, texted other senior cabinet officials about precise timings and weapons systems used in strikes on Yemen on March 15.
Hegseth, a former Fox News journalist, inadvertently leaked precision details including when F-18s would launch a ‘first strike package’, the type of MQ-9 drones that would be deployed and the exact moment ‘the first bombs will definitely drop.’
It appears the Pentagon chief put the lives of American troops in danger by revealing in an unsecured group chat precise details of a planned air strike at least 31 minutes before the first bombs dropped.
Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe denied before the Senate just hours before the latest update that any secret material was shared on the Signal chat, of which they were included. The two will appear before the House for further questioning later Wednesday.
The full Yemen attack plans texted in a group chat between top Trump administration officials over encrypted chat service Signal were released by The Atlantic on Wednesday morning.
On Monday, the editor in chief of The Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he was added to a group chat on an unclassified channel involving several of Trump’s most important cabinet members discussing Yemen war plans.
Many of the new messages Goldberg shared in his follow-up article include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (pictured) detailing the weapons systems and timings of the strikes before they were carried out earlier this month
Withheld from their previous report were any messages about specific timings or weapons.
But after President Donald Trump and multiple administration officials in the Signal group chat denied any classified information was discussed on the application, the publication decided it was necessary to publish screenshots of the entire back-and-forth.
The never-before-seen messages now show that the officials were discussing very specific plans to carry out an attack on a Houthi ‘terrorist threat.’
Hegseth, the morning of March 15, provided a team update in the ‘Houthi PC small group’ chat where he confirmed Central Command (Centcom) ‘are a GO for mission launch’ and noted the use of F-18s and MQ-9 drone launches to be used in the ‘strike window’ on the ‘target terrorist.’
Centcom is the military’s combatant command for the Middle East.
One bombshell message shows Hegseth detailing a timeline and weapons systems to be used in an attack on 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched and two hours before the window to take out a Houthi ‘terrorist target’ on March 15
Hegseth ensured they were ‘clean on OPSEC’ – or operational security – and said more on the timeline would follow
He then provided a timeline of launches for the bombings and specific weapons used in the attacks a full 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched and two hours before a Houthi ‘target terrorists’ was expected to be killed by this aircraft’s bombs.
Just moments after Hegseth sent the message with a full upcoming timeline, Waltz changed the setting of the Signal chat so the messages would automatically disappear after four weeks.
‘Godspeed to our Warriors,’ Hegseth wrote in one message in the chat that mistakenly included Goldberg.
Trump’s team is already trying to spin and discredit the new report, claiming it’s a ‘hoax,’ and that the update proves that they sensationalized the initial publication of the Signal chat by calling it ‘war plans’ and are now trying to rebrand as ‘attack plans.’
‘It’s very clear Goldberg oversold what he had,’ Vice President J.D. Vance posted to X on Wednesday morning with an image of the article with underlined ‘attack plans’ from the headline.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich wrote: ‘The Atlantic has already abandoned their bulls*** ‘war plans’ narrative, and in releasing the full chat , they concede they LIED to perpetuate yet ANOTHER hoax on the American people.’
‘What scumbags!’
And Trump’s Press Secretary wrote: ‘The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT ‘war plans.’
‘This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin,’ Karoline Leavitt added.
Goldberg was added to the Houthi PC small group chat on Signal – he does not know why or how he was added to the chat, which included a slew of top Trump officials and their staff
During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, National Security Advisor Mike Watlz denied that any classified information was discussed in the chat. Waltz was the one who appeared to inadvertently add Goldberg to the chat on Signal
NSA Waltz added Goldberg to the group chat and was appeared to kick-off a discussion on carrying out a Houthi attack. Marco Rubio – labeled MAR in the chat – was added after Goldberg
Waltz initially asked for all members of the chat to provide a point of contact for the operation
Hegseth even stunned his former Fox News colleague Brit Hume when he brought into question the authenticity of the group chat messages shared by Goldberg.
The Pentagon chief even suggested that the leader of the Atlantic newsroom was completely fabricating the story in continuing to push the ‘fake news’ narrative.
‘You’re talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again,’ Hegseth told a reporter as he traveled in Hawaii this week.
Hume posted to social media a video of Hegseth’s remarks and noted: ‘Oh for God’s sake, the administration has already confirmed the authenticity of the message.’
The veteran Fox News political analyst was referring to a statement from National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes, who in the article commented on the record.
‘This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,’ Hughes wrote.
He added: ‘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 troops or national security.’
Hegseth claimed that Goldberg has played role in pushing ‘hoaxes’ surrounding Trump being compromised by the Russians, the president’s comments in Charlottesville, and the story that the president called fallen American solders ‘suckers and losers.’
‘This is a guy who peddles in garbage. This is what he does,’ Hegseth said.
Goldberg claims in his follow-up report: ‘If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests—or someone merely indiscreet, and with access to social media—the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds.’
‘The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic.’
NSA Waltz set messages to disappear after four weeks in the Signal chat after Hegseth provided a detailed timeline of the Yemen attack. Shortly after, he updated the team that a building collapsed with the target inside
Several in the chat, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, lauded the successful strike. At this point, Goldberg said he left the chat – but not before taking the screen shots of the messages
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, who were both in the already-infamous Signal chat, were part of a Senate hearing on worldwide threats on Tuesday.
The timing of the public questioning was right after the initial Atlantic report revealing the use of a communications app to discuss specific plans to bomb Yemen.
Gabbard and Ratcliffe – alongside FBI Director Kash Patel – were asked about the chat during the hearing and repeatedly denied that any classified information was discussed.
‘There was no classified material that was shared in that Signal group,’ Gabbard told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The chat was initiated by National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and inadvertently included Goldberg, who published a story on the chat only after the attack was carried out in Yemen.
Waltz, during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday, vehemently denied that any classified discussions took place in the chat. Trump said he had continued faith in his NSA.
DNI Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were among those in the Signal group chat – they appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday for an aptly-timed hearing on worldwide threats
In the chat, Vice President J.D. Vance noted he was worried about the timing of the strike, claiming: ‘I think we are making a mistake’
Joe Kent, the POC for DNI Gabbard, agreed with Vance that there was no rush – and CIA Director Ratcliffe said a delay ‘would not negatively impact us’
Screen grabs of the chat show that Hegseth acknowledged Vance’s concerns and supported him bringing it up to President Donald Trump. He said waiting to attack would not change much
Concerns were raised over reopening of the Suez Canal and sentiment was shared by many of the chat participants over the ‘pathetic’ ‘European freed-loading’ off of the U.S.
