Gabbard and Ratcliffe testifying before the Senate Tuesday. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Multiple top Trump officials insisted Tuesday — including under oath — that “no classified material” or “war plans” were shared in a Signal group chat that mistakenly included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
Why it matters: The White House has confirmed the authenticity of the explosive text messages published by The Atlantic, but disputed Goldberg’s claim that he withheld “operational details” about U.S. strikes in Yemen out of concern that they were classified.
- Goldberg, who was accidentally invited to the chat by national security adviser Mike Waltz, said the texts included the specific time, targets and sequencing of the operation.
- “The information contained in them, if they had been read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel,” Goldberg wrote.
Driving the news: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom Goldberg said had shared the sensitive operational details, categorically denied Monday that “war plans” were discussed in the group chat.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated that denial Tuesday and added that “no classified material was sent to the thread” — slamming Goldberg as a journalist known for “sensationalist spin.”
- CIA director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard both testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday that “no classified material” was shared in the Signal chat.
The intrigue: Goldberg has pushed back hard on the Trump administration’s attacks on his integrity and reporting, and left open the door to publishing the texts that he initially withheld.
- “Maybe in the coming days, I’ll be able to let you know that I have a plan to have this material vetted publicly,” Goldberg told The Bulwark Podcast.
- He cautioned, however, that he takes national security information “very seriously” — regardless of whether it’s classified or not — and is “sticking to my principles here.”
