The White House is embroiled in an unprecedented scandal after senior officials accidentally shared classified military plans with a journalist and Republican officials are scrambling to contain the fallout as more lawmakers demand accountability.
President Trump’s national security team discussed imminent airstrikes on Yemen in an unsecured group chat that included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, and other top advisers debated strike details on an encrypted messaging app not authorized for sensitive communications.
The journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, watched in real time as officials outlined targets, timing, and even political talking points before bombs fell on Houthi positions.
Senate Intelligence Committee members erupted in outrage upon learning of the security breach during a classified briefing.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) grilled two of President Donald Trump’s top intelligence officials after they participated in a group chat that revealed secret war plans to a journalist for The Atlantic. During a Tuesday Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Warner noted that the chat “was not only sloppy, not only violated all procedures, but if this information had gotten out, American lives could have been lost.”
“This is either criminal negligence or something far worse,” declared one senior Democrat, demanding immediate hearings.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard refused to confirm whether the exposed information was classified, citing an ongoing review.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe claimed no laws were broken but stonewalled requests to release the chat transcripts.
The Pentagon’s press office issued a terse statement calling the incident “an honest mistake with no operational impact.”
Military veterans and intelligence professionals immediately contradicted that assessment, calling the lapse “potentially deadly.”
Vice President Vance had privately opposed the strikes, warning they lacked clear objectives, according to leaked portions of the discussion.
Secretary Hegseth overruled those concerns while simultaneously strategizing how to blame the Biden administration for any fallout.
National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, whose staffer allegedly added the reporter to the chat, remains in his position despite calls for his resignation.
President Trump dismissed the scandal as “fake news” before contradictorially blaming “a low-level person who pressed the wrong button.”
The same officials who once demanded prison time for Hillary Clinton’s emails now downplay exposing live war plans.
House Democrats are preparing subpoenas while Senate Republicans remain conspicuously silent.
Intelligence experts warn hostile nations may have intercepted the unsecured communications.
The breach occurred just hours before U.S. jets began their bombing campaign over Yemen.
Goldberg chose not to publish the operational details but confirmed their authenticity to congressional investigators.
This administration has fired officials for far lesser security violations in the past.
The Secretary of Defense reportedly typed “We are currently clean on OPSEC” moments before the journalist received the messages.
Career intelligence officers describe this as the most egregious security failure since WikiLeaks.
The National Security Agency is reportedly conducting damage assessment at the highest classification level.
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