US Officials Accidentally Leak Sensitive War Plans To Journalist On Secret App, Trump Maintains He Knows ‘Nothing’

Washington: The top national security officials in the Trump administration, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, inadvertently shared sensitive war plans with a journalist on a secured messaging app. The leak of the war plans, which led to massive chaos among the officials, reportedly included operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The incident has raised serious concerns about the administration's handling of classified information. 

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump , while responding to the classified information leak issue on Monday, maintained that he knows "nothing" about his top national security officials inadvertently texting war plans about upcoming military strikes on Yemen to a group in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief of a magazine.

According to a report by The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, the text chain included discussions about targets, weapons, and attack sequencing. The National Security Council has confirmed that the text chain "appears to be authentic." President Trump, however, claimed he knew "nothing" about the breach, dismissing The Atlantic as "not much of a magazine."

Goldberg revealed that he was unexpectedly added to a Signal group chat titled "Houthi PC small group" on March 11. Over the following days, the group discussed detailed plans for airstrikes targeting the Houthis in Yemen. Goldberg said that messages in the group included highly sensitive and classified information, with participants identifying themselves as senior figures in the Trump administration.

As per the revelation, the participants in the group chat included Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Antonio Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance. Despite his doubts about the group's authenticity, Goldberg said the participants went on to share classified discussions about targets, timing, and potential consequences of the planned strikes. 

As per the claims, during the discussion, at one point, Vice President Vance voiced hesitation, saying he believed the administration was "making a mistake" by moving forward so quickly, though he agreed to back the majority view. Hegseth argued against delaying the strikes, saying that any hold-up could risk leaks and make the administration appear “indecisive”.

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Implications For National Security

Notably, the handling of national defence information is strictly governed by the law under the century-old Espionage Act, including provisions that make it a crime to remove such information from its "proper place of custody" even through an act of gross negligence. The Justice Department in 2015 and 2016 investigated whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton broke the law by communicating about classified information with her aides on a private email server she set up, though the FBI ultimately recommended against charges and none were brought.

Investigation Launched Into The Breach

The leak of sensitive war plans has serious implications for national security. The sharing of operational details can compromise the safety of service members and undermine the effectiveness of military operations. The incident has also raised questions about the administration's ability to protect classified information.

The National Security Council has launched an investigation into the breach, and Defence Secretary Hegseth's office has announced a crackdown on leaks of sensitive information. The incident has also sparked calls for greater transparency and accountability within the administration.