Hegseth claims ‘nobody was texting war plans’ in first comments since Yemen strike group text scandal
Defense Secretary Pete Hegses on Monday asserted that no sensitive “war plans” were discussed in a signal chat group that mistakenly includes journalists.
“No one was texting the war plan, so that's all I have to say about it,” Hegses told Hawaii reporters when he asked Hawaii's report about the Atlantic report that revealed a surprising national security violation involving high-level Trump administration officials.
Hegseth denounced Goldberg for his first comment on the incident to a reporter on Monday. Pool/Abaca/Shutterstock
The magazine's top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed that he was misrepresented with group texts on the encrypted signaling app with Hegses, Vice President JD Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and other Trump administration officials.
Goldberg was added to the signal chain on March 11, well before the Yemen strike on March 15th.
White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said on Monday that the message contained in the Golberg report appears to be “real,” with the NSC being “reviewing how careless numbers have been added to the chain.”
Hegseth denounced Goldberg before denying that “war planning” was being debated on the signal chain in his first official duties since the scandal broke.
“You're talking about a deceptive, highly unreliable, so-called journalist who has created a sold-out occupation over and over,” the Secretary of Defense said of the Atlantic editor-in-chief.
Hegses pointed to Goldberg's report that President Trump's 2016 campaign denied allegations that he conspired with Russia ahead of the election. His article on Trump's comments on violence at the 2017 White Supremacist Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. And his contested 2020 article accused US troops of sloppy parrying those buried US troops buried in France as “suckers” and “losers.”
“This is a guy pedaling with garbage. This is what he does,” the Pentagon chief continued, debating the military's efforts to eradicate Yemeni footy terrorists.
Goldberg claims he was invited to join a signal chain called “Houthi PC Small Group” two days after connecting with the Waltz on the app.
Hegseth appeared to convince Vice President JD Vance that a strike in Yemen was necessary after Vance first raised concerns about the operation. Retrieved by NY Post
Waltz, a former Republican House member from Florida, reportedly risks losing his job in the incident.
“It was reckless not to check who was in the thread. It was reckless to have that conversation at a traffic light. You can't be reckless as a national security adviser,” a Trump administration official told Politico.
Officials said there is an ongoing discussion with staff about waltz and what to do.
“Half of them say he can never survive or should not survive,” the official told the outlet.
Goldberg was added to the signal thread a few days before the US launched a military operation against Yemen's Houthis. zumapress.com
Officials from another administration indicated that Trump had spoken to the Waltz since reporting the bomb.
“President Trump has the greatest confidence in his national security team, including national security adviser Mike Waltz,” White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt said Monday.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests to post comments.
Hegseth claims ‘nobody was texting war plans’ in first comments since Yemen strike group text scandal
Defense Secretary Pete Hegses on Monday asserted that no sensitive “war plans” were discussed in a signal chat group that mistakenly includes journalists.
“No one was texting the war plan, so that's all I have to say about it,” Hegses told Hawaii reporters when he asked Hawaii's report about the Atlantic report that revealed a surprising national security violation involving high-level Trump administration officials.
The magazine's top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed that he was misrepresented with group texts on the encrypted signaling app with Hegses, Vice President JD Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and other Trump administration officials.
Goldberg was added to the signal chain on March 11, well before the Yemen strike on March 15th.
White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said on Monday that the message contained in the Golberg report appears to be “real,” with the NSC being “reviewing how careless numbers have been added to the chain.”
Hegseth denounced Goldberg before denying that “war planning” was being debated on the signal chain in his first official duties since the scandal broke.
“You're talking about a deceptive, highly unreliable, so-called journalist who has created a sold-out occupation over and over,” the Secretary of Defense said of the Atlantic editor-in-chief.
Hegses pointed to Goldberg's report that President Trump's 2016 campaign denied allegations that he conspired with Russia ahead of the election. His article on Trump's comments on violence at the 2017 White Supremacist Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. And his contested 2020 article accused US troops of sloppy parrying those buried US troops buried in France as “suckers” and “losers.”
“This is a guy pedaling with garbage. This is what he does,” the Pentagon chief continued, debating the military's efforts to eradicate Yemeni footy terrorists.
Goldberg claims he was invited to join a signal chain called “Houthi PC Small Group” two days after connecting with the Waltz on the app.
Waltz, a former Republican House member from Florida, reportedly risks losing his job in the incident.
“It was reckless not to check who was in the thread. It was reckless to have that conversation at a traffic light. You can't be reckless as a national security adviser,” a Trump administration official told Politico.
Officials said there is an ongoing discussion with staff about waltz and what to do.
“Half of them say he can never survive or should not survive,” the official told the outlet.
Officials from another administration indicated that Trump had spoken to the Waltz since reporting the bomb.
“President Trump has the greatest confidence in his national security team, including national security adviser Mike Waltz,” White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt said Monday.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests to post comments.
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