National Security Advisor Michael Waltz has commented on the security blunder where US war plans against Yemen were leaked by a journalist who was accidentally added to a group chat discussing the plans. This came after the journalist published the story with screenshots.
Editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published the screenshots
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, published an article on Monday March 24 about having been added to a Signal group chat with top security professionals. Since then, the Trump administration has been receiving scrutiny, with the security breach incident bringing on bipartisan concern.
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The chat included top security officials
According to Goldberg’s article, the chat had 18 other members including US vice-president JD Vance, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, and secretary of state Marco Rubio among other top security officials.
Goldberg claims he was added to the group chat by Michael Waltz where the high-profile figures started discussing an upcoming attack on the Houthis in Yemen. Goldberg also said he didn’t know he was added by ‘the actual Michael Waltz’ nor did he realize the group chat was real until the attack actually happened.
Waltz defended himself after the incident
Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday March 25, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz who added Goldberg into the group chat said he was unaware the journalist was in the group. He also claimed “full responsibility” for the security breach.
Waltz said, “I take full responsibility. I built the group. It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it. We’ve got the best technical minds looking at how this happened.”
Waltz said he didn’t know how Goldberg’s number got there
After telling the reporter that there wasn’t a single person to blame, Waltz said he built the group chat but was unaware that Goldberg was in it, calling the journalist a “loser”.
“I take full responsibility. I built the group. My job is to make sure everything is coordinated.” Waltz said
Waltz tried to explain himself, calling Goldberg a “loser”
Waltz continued, “Have you ever had somebody’s contact that shows their name and then you have somebody else’s number there? … Of course I didn’t see this loser in the group. It looked like someone else. Whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean is something we’re trying to figure out.”
Waltz blamed Goldberg for being in the group chat
The security advisor went on to insinuate that it was somehow Goldberg’s fault that he ended up in the group chat, saying, “I can tell you for 100 percent I don’t know this guy. I know him by his horrible reputation, and he really is the bottom scum of journalists.”
“And I know him in the sense that he hates the president, but I don’t text him. He wasn’t on my phone. And we’re going to figure out how this happened,” Waltz added.
Goldberg and The Atlantic have already responded to denials
Following discrediting from Waltz and other officials in the administration, both Goldberg and The Atlantic have come out in response.
The Atlantic said in part, “Attempts to disparage and discredit The Atlantic, our editor, and our reporting follow an obvious playbook by elected officials and others in power who are hostile to journalists and the First Amendment rights of all Americans.”
Following initial denials, Goldberg had also told CNN that defense secretary Pete Hegseth “was texting war plans. He was texting attack plans. When targets were going to be targeted. How they were going to be targeted. Who was at the targets. When the next sequence of attacks were happening.”
