A major national security controversy has erupted after The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal group chat where senior Trump administration officials discussed sensitive military operations against Houthi targets in Yemen [1][2].

The incident, which occurred in mid-March 2025, involved at least 18 senior officials including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance [3]. The chat reportedly contained detailed information about military strike timing, targets, and weapons systems [1].

President Donald Trump downplayed the incident on Tuesday, calling it "the only glitch in two months" and expressing continued support for National Security Advisor Waltz. "Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man," Trump told NBC News [2].

During Tuesday's Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe insisted no classified information was shared in the chat. However, their testimony drew skepticism from senators [4].

"It's hard for me to believe that targets and timing and weapons would not have been classified," said Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) during the hearing [6].

Legal experts have identified potential violations of several federal laws, including the Espionage Act and the Presidential Records Act [12]. The use of Signal, a commercial messaging app, for sensitive military communications has particularly alarmed security experts.

"Sharing time sensitive military operational details over a commercial communications application shows a shocking level of disregard for the sensitivity of classified information at the top of the U.S. security establishment," said Nicholas Reese, a global security expert at NYU [12].

The Senate Armed Services Committee has indicated it will investigate the matter [3]. FBI Director Kash Patel told senators he had no update on whether the FBI had opened an investigation [11].