The Atlantic released screenshots of a Signal group chat that involved top Trump officials after the magazine's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally added to the conversation.
Although the administration has downplayed the chat’s significance, insisting no classified information was shared, the exchange revealed the precise timing of attacks and the assets involved.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed the following information within the text exchange:
- "TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch."
- “1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”
- “1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)”
- “1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)”
- “1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)”
- “1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.”
- “MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)”
- “We are currently clean on OPSEC”
- “Godspeed to our Warriors.”
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The message was posted on March 15 — just before the U.S. culminated the attack, according to Goldberg.
The chat, which was set up by national security adviser Mike Waltz, included Vice President JD Vance, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and about a dozen other top officials. The Trump administration acknowledged that it appeared Goldberg was inadvertently added to the group chat.
Knowing the attack was set for March 15 at around 1:45 p.m., Goldberg said he parked at a supermarket and checked X for reports of bombings in Yemen. "At about 1:55, I checked X and searched Yemen," he wrote. "Explosions were then being heard across Sanaa, the capital city."
The group chat shows officials congratulating each other following the attacks, posting numerous messages with emojis.
Despite what seemed to be highly sensitive attack plans, the Trump administration repeatedly insisted the exchange did not contain classified information while attacking Goldberg.
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Responding to Goldberg’s release of the screenshots on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not challenge their authenticity but objected to the original characterization that 'war plans' had been leaked.
"The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT 'war plans.” This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin," she said.
Hegseth took a similar tone.
"So, let’s me get this straight. The Atlantic released the so-called 'war plans' and those 'plan'” include: No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information," Hegseth said. "Those are some really s----- war plans. This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an 'attack plan' (as he now calls it). Not even close."
President Donald Trump also downplayed the story on Tuesday, attacking Goldberg and expressing support for Waltz, calling him a "very good man."
The White House said on Wednesday that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency will investigate how Goldberg was added to the chat. Similar investigations in past administrations have generally been handled by a special counsel within the Department of Justice.
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