The Atlantic releases the entire Signal chat showing Hegseth's detailed attack plans against Houthis
Quotes
The first target – their top missile guy – we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend’s building and it’s now collapsed,
Waltz wrote at 2 p.m. ET
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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,
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post to social media
If this information — particularly the exact times American aircraft were taking off for Yemen — had fallen into the wrong hands in that crucial two-hour period, American pilots and other American personnel could have been exposed to even greater danger than they ordinarily would face,
Goldberg and Harris wroteWeather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch,
In a message sent at 11:44 a.m. ET and published by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg and Shane Harris, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shares operational details about the strikes ... Hegseth wroteGreat job all. More strikes ongoing for hours tonight, and will provide full initial report tomorrow. But on time, on target, and good readouts so far,
he saidThis was 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched, and two hours and one minute before the beginning of a period in which a primary target, the Houthi 'Target Terrorist,' was expected to be killed by these American aircraft,
Goldberg wrote
There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared,
the magazine said
Nobody was texting war plans. And that’s all I have to say about that,
Hegseth said on Monday
Criminal charges are a theoretical possibility, but highly unlikely. A prosecution requires knowledge and intent, and it doesn't appear that Hegseth and others knew Goldberg was on the chat,
he told Newsweek
There is not an officer alive whose career would survive a security breach like that. It would normally result in instant consequences (relief from command, for example) followed by a comprehensive investigation and, potentially, criminal charges."
In The New York Times on Monday, opinion columnist David French, a former attorney with the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG Corps) wrotePresumably, the sharing of information with the journalist was a mistake, not a knowing and willful violation,
he saidBut even if it is some sort of crime, who is going to prosecute? It's very hard to see Pam Bondi's Justice Department bringing charges over this incredibly sloppy and embarrassing incident,
he saidPractically speaking, a prosecution requires someone willing to charge the case. I can't see Attorney General Bondi doing so or even appointing a special counsel to investigate the breach,
he saidI don't know if it's technically a crime to use a server that is not set up and approved by the government to discuss top secret war plans; I do know that it's incredibly sloppy and dangerous, and government officials need to be a lot more careful and put procedures in place to prevent something like this from happening again,
he saidWe’ll look into it, ... but everybody else seems to be using it.”
Trump said
The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,
he saidThe Atlantic has already abandoned their bulls--- ‘war plans’ narrative, and in releasing the full chat , they concede they LIED to perpetuate yet ANOTHER hoax on the American people. What scumbags!"
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich responded to the report on Wednesday by saying
I will say a prayer for victory.”
Shortly after, Vice President J. D. Vance texted the group
VP. Building collapsed. Had multiple positive ID. Pete, Kurilla, the IC, amazing job.”
At 1:48 p.m., Waltz sent the following text, containing real-time intelligence about conditions at an attack site, apparently in SanaaCENTCOM was/is on point.”
Later that afternoon, Hegseth posted ... Notably