close
Sunday March 30, 2025

Magazine publishes full US attack plan shared in Signal chat

By AFP
March 27, 2025
Top Trump administration officials including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (left), Vice President JD Vance (centre), and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth (right) were all in the chat group —AFP/File
Top Trump administration officials including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (left), Vice President JD Vance (centre), and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth (right) were all in the chat group —AFP/File

WASHINGTON: US magazine the Atlantic on Wednesday published the full exchange of leaked messages between officials laying out plans for an attack on Yemen, as the White House fought fiercely to defend itself over the slip-up.

Details including the times of strikes and types of planes used were shown in screenshots of the chat between President Donald Trump´s top officials on the commercial Signal messaging app.

The story broke earlier this week after an Atlantic journalist was accidentally added to the chat, and the magazine said it was revealing full details of the attack plans now because Trump´s team insisted that no classified details were involved.

The White House reacted defiantly, launching a coordinated attack in which it slammed the magazine´s journalists as “scumbags” and dismissed the story as a “hoax.”

“There weren´t details, and there was nothing in there that compromised, and it had no impact on the attack, which was very successful,” Trump told podcaster Vince Coglianese when asked about the latest revelations.

Vice President JD Vance, who was on the Signal conversation, said The Atlantic had “oversold” the story.

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has taken responsibility for accidentally adding Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat, likewise insisted that the Signal chain revealed “no locations” and “NO WAR PLANS.”

Goldberg revealed Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent information in the Signal chat about imminent strikes against the Huthi rebels on March 15.