'F-18s LAUNCH': Atlantic publishes purported Yemen strike details from Signal chat
The White House has sought to minimize the national security breach.
WASHINGTON -- The Atlantic on Wednesday published a new article detailing purported information about recent American strikes in Yemen it says was accidentally shared with a journalist via Signal by senior members of President Donald Trump's National Security Council.
The follow-up article in The Atlantic disputes the administration's claims that no classified information was shared on the group, to which editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added. Officials within the administration are "attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared," the article said.
The article suggested that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth updated members of the "Houthi PC small group" Signal chat on "favorable" weather conditions ahead of planned airstrikes on Houthi leaders and other targets in Yemen.
RELATED: 'Extreme alarm': Democrats demand answers after Signal chat firestorm
The article said Hegseth also notified the group of a planned timeline for flights of F-18 strike aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones and Tomahawk cruise missiles that were launched for the mission.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon released new video of F-18 fighter jets heading out on a mission to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.
"THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier 'Trigger Based' targets," Hegseth wrote ahead of the operation, referencing the time stamp of "1415," or 2:15, according to The Atlantic.
The White House has insisted the communications in the group chat were not war plans and criticized The Atlantic journalist who detailed the account.
"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 posted on X Wednesday.
National security adviser Mike Waltz said Wednesday morning that the chat didn't include war plans or specific details about the strikes.
"No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS. Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests," Waltz posted on X.
On Tuesday, Trump claimed there "was no classified information as I understand it."
MORE | Trump downplays Yemen war plans group chat fiasco as minor 'glitch'
"It's very clear Goldberg oversold what he had," Vice President JD Vance posted to X Wednesday morning.
ABC News contributor Mick Mulroy, a former senior Pentagon official and CIA officer, said the information shared on the commercial app appeared to detail an ongoing operation that shouldn't be shared publicly.
In Mulroy's opinion, "It is highly classified and protected. Disclosure would compromise the operation and put lives at risk. Next to nuclear and covert operations this information is the most protected."
The initial story in The Atlantic only described the operational part of the message chain, but did not divulge specifics.
According to the article, Hegseth later messaged the group with after-action updates, notifying members that specific Houthi leaders had been located and identified immediately before strikes on their locations.
Senior defense officials faced a second day of questioning on Capitol Hill about the conversion that was accidentally released.
"What occurred in that Signal chat was an update to national security cabinet members that was also issued around the same time as updates to our foreign partners and allies in the region," Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said. "If that information that was put out in the chat by the secretary of defense had included specific sources and methods and targets and names, then the answer would be yes. But that was not the case."
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who represents Chicago and its northwest suburbs, referenced the text chain in the hearing.
"We clearly have weapons systems that have been identified. That is classified information. Now, the reason why it's important that this information not be disclosed is that we don't want the adversaries to know what's about to happen, right sir?" Krishnamoorthi said.
The hearing Wednesday was part of the annual world threats report given to congress. The CIA director blasted Democrats for only asking about the messaging app mess.
"Not asking question from Democrats either in the Senate or the House on China, Russia, Iran, the real threats that are going on to the United States," John Ratcliffe said.
Republican Darin LaHood focused his questions on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requirements.
Krishnamoorthi also referenced an ABC7 Chicago I-Team report about resources from the Joint Terrorism Task Force being moved to help with immigration enforcement.
"I don't say this lightly: If there's a terrorist attack anywhere in the country, including in Chicago, and it was because the JTTF's in part shifted resources, there'll be hell to pay," Krishnamoorthi said.
But Democrats insisted this breach endangered service members, and could hurt relations with U.S. allies.
"We have to believe that our allies look at this as a colossal mistake, and at least hesitate to a certain extent, wanting to share sensitive information with us, that keeps us safe," said Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Chicago. "Wouldn't you be at least somewhat concerned that our allies would look at this and say, that wasn't the perfect way to communicate?"
Several Democrats are now calling on Hegseth to resign.
"When I served in the military and I served in classified environments, had this happened to me, I would have walked my resignation in immediately. This is not OK," said Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Democrat from Pennsylvania.
But it was clear from two days of hearings that the Trump administration believes there was nothing wrong done here, and they frequently pivoted to how successful the mission was, contending that should be the focus.
ABC7 Chicago reporter Craig Wall contributed to this report.
