Who is journalist Jeffrey Goldberg and why Trump officials text him the highest secret war plan?

The magazine reported in a story released online on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s national president, including his defense secretary, had a text message plan to a military strike in Yemen to conduct a group chat in a secure messaging app, which included editor-in-chief of the Atlantic.

The National Security Council said the text chain “seems to be real.”

Trump initially told reporters that he was unaware that the information had shared highly sensitive information, which was two and a half hours after the report. Later he seemed to joke about violations.

The material in the text chain “contains operational details of the strike against Iran-backed Hussebel in Yemen, including information about the target, weapons and attack sequencing that the United States will deploy,” Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey in Yefor.

It is not clear whether the details of military operations have been classified, but they are often and at least kept safe to protect service personnel and operations.

The United States has launched air strikes on Hotis since militant groups began targeting commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea in November 2023.

Just two hours after Goldberg received details of the March 15 attack, the United States began a series of air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

The National Security Council said in a statement that it is looking at how to add journalists’ phone numbers to the chain in signaling group chats.

In addition to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, there are Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Goldberg said he received a signal invitation from Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz, who was also in the group chat.

Hegseth attacked Goldberg as “deceptive” and “smeared so-called journalist” in his first comments on the matter without providing further explanation. He did not clarify why signals were used to discuss sensitive operations or Goldberg’s final results on the message chain.

“No one plans to send text messages, that’s what I’m going to say,” Heggs said in a conversation with reporters after landing in Hawaii on Monday.

In a statement late Monday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the president still has “greatest confidence” in waltz and the national security team.

“I know nothing about it. It’s the first time you told me,” Trump told reporters earlier Monday, adding that the Atlantic Ocean is not a magazine. ”

By the evening, the president jokingly threw it aside. He amplified Elon Musk’s social media post to focus on a conservative satirical news website article titled “4D Chess: Genius Trump leaks war plans to the Atlantic Ocean and no one will see them”.

Government officials have used signals to organize signals, but they are not classified and can be hacked. Privacy and tech experts say the popular end-to-end encrypted messaging and voice calling apps are safer than traditional texting.

Sensitive information is shared because Hegseth’s office has just announced crackdowns on leaks of sensitive information, including potentially using lie detectors on defense personnel to determine how journalists receive the information.

Sean Parnell, a spokesman for Hegseth, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why the Secretary of Defense posted a plan for war operations on unclassified applications.

Democratic lawmakers quickly condemned the administration’s handling of highly sensitive information, and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for a full investigation.

Under the Centennial Espionage Act, even if serious negligence is passed, the provisions for deleting such information from its “appropriate custody” are strictly subject to strict jurisdiction by law, including crimes.

The Justice Department investigated in 2015 and 2016 whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had classified information with her assistant on a private email server she set up, and although the FBI finally recommended targeting the allegations, no one was raised.

According to a former national security official, some officials in the Joe Biden administration were allowed to download signals on phones issued by the White House but were instructed to use the app with caution.

The official asked to talk anonymously about the methods used to share sensitive information, saying signals are most commonly used to convey what they internally call “tippers” to inform someone that when they leave the office or travel abroad they should check their “high side” inbox for classified information.

Sometimes during the Biden administration, officials also sometimes use the app to communicate about arrangements for scheduling sensitive meetings or confidential phone calls outside the office, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by DNA staff and published from AP/PTI in addition to the title)