US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has taken responsibility for a serious security lapse involving a group chat where high-ranking US officials, including President Donald Trump and intelligence chiefs, discussed sensitive military plans. The chat, which included a journalist by mistake, involved planning military strikes in Yemen, with detailed discussions on targets, weapons packages, and timing.
Waltz admitted to building the group chat, calling it “embarrassing” during an interview with Fox News. He did not explain how journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was added to the chat, but he emphasized that Goldberg was not supposed to be there. Despite Waltz’s efforts to clarify, Trump downplayed the issue, calling it a “glitch” with no operational consequences. He suggested that someone working with Waltz at a lower level had Goldberg’s phone number, leading to the mishap.
Goldberg, who was inadvertently added to the Signal chat, reported seeing sensitive information about the military strikes just hours before they took place. Although he did not include the classified details in his report, the situation has raised concerns about national security, especially regarding the use of the Signal app, which experts argue could be vulnerable to interception.
The incident has led to calls for an investigation. Some lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, have criticized the Trump administration for what they describe as a “grossly incompetent” national security strategy. The non-partisan group American Oversight has filed a lawsuit, alleging violations of the Federal Records Act due to the use of automatic message deletion on the app, which may have violated requirements for preserving official records.
The incident also highlighted concerns over the app’s security. The National Security Agency had warned employees about vulnerabilities in Signal just a month before the leak. Meanwhile, the discussion in the chat also raised eyebrows over the officials’ apparent disdain for European reliance on US protection of shipping lanes, which was referred to in the chat as “European freeloading.”
This event has sparked widespread outrage and questions about the security practices of high-level US officials, especially when dealing with sensitive matters on civilian platforms like Signal.