White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Jeffrey Goldberg an "anti-Trump hater" during a heated press briefing. Getty Images
The White House reacted strongly on Wednesday after a journalist released messages from a private Signal group chat used by national security officials. The messages revealed sensitive details about planned U.S. military strikes in Yemen.
President Donald Trump called the coverage a “witch hunt” and criticized the journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, who had accidentally been added to the group. Trump also dismissed the incident, saying the messaging app “isn’t very good” and downplayed the leak’s importance.
The leaked messages showed that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had shared sensitive information, including strike timings and unit details. Goldberg published the messages after the Trump administration accused him of lying about the leak.
When reporters asked Trump who was responsible for the mix-up, he pointed to National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. “Mike Waltz, I guess he claimed responsibility,” Trump said. Waltz later confirmed that he had made the mistake by adding Goldberg to the chat.
Trump defended Hegseth, saying, “He’s doing a great job,” and blamed the error on the Signal app rather than his officials.
Officials Admit Mistake, Downplay the Leak
While some officials denied that classified information was shared, others admitted the incident was a serious error. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was part of the chat, called it a “big mistake.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard promised a full review by the National Security Council to determine how the journalist was added.
Hegseth continued to defend himself, saying the shared details were not classified. “They know it’s not war plans,” he told reporters. “There’s no units, no locations, no routes, no flight paths, no sources, no methods, no classified information.”
However, military experts disagreed. Mick Mulroy, a former U.S. defense official and CIA officer, said the messages contained highly sensitive information. He explained that attack plans, which include specific details about the time, location, and manner of a strike, are usually classified and should never be shared on unsecured platforms.
Journalist Stands by Decision to Publish Messages
Goldberg defended his decision to publish the messages. He said the public had the right to know how the administration handled military plans on a non-secure app. In his article, Goldberg said, “There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in non-secure communications channels.”
The full messages revealed details about U.S. strike “packages,” which refer to the aircraft and weapons used in the operation. They also mentioned CIA activities in Yemen and potential Israeli strikes on Houthi targets.
At a White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt attacked Goldberg, calling him an “anti-Trump hater.” She claimed the real story was the administration’s successful military action against Houthi terrorists, not the Signal chat leak.
