A BOMBSHELL group chat with top Trump officials discussing US military strikes is a “tragically comedic” blunder that could have put lives at risk, experts have warned.
The encrypted message thread containing sensitive military chatter was compromised when The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added.
The private Signal chat was used as a virtual war room by Trump’s foreign policy heavyweights including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz – who is believed to have been behind the major gaffe.
President Trump, who was not in the chat, later stood by Waltz, saying his adviser had “learned a lesson and he’s a good man”.
Hegseth also furiously denied the claims that vital war plans were being discussed in the group, insisting: “Nobody was texting war plans and that’s all I have to say about that.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down and wrote on X that “no ‘war plans’ were discussed” on the Signal group chat and “no classified material was sent to the thread.”
Read more on the chat blunder
But the fiasco would have serious implications for future missions, intelligence gathering, and individuals involved in the decision-making process, security expert Will Geddes told The Sun.
He said: “This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen sensitive, classified information leaked.
“But what is quite fascinating here is that a journalist was supposedly added to a confidential Signal group used by senior members of Trump’s administration — and nobody noticed.”
While Signal is a popular end-to-end encrypted messaging app, Geddes warned it’s not built for highly classified military discussions.
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“There was not a higher level of security to ensure only whitelisted individuals could join,” he said.
“We’ve all sent messages to the wrong person before, but this is on another level.”
The incident, he said, reveals a collapse in operational security, or “opsec”.
“How classified information is handled, stored, and disposed of has to be considered incredibly carefully,” Geddes explained.
“This undermines not just the specific mission, but also the credibility of everyone involved.”
He likened the situation to being added to a WhatsApp group and not even checking who else is in it.
“Most people would at least look. These officials didn’t.”
Former British Army colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon called the breach “really, really concerning” and accused Trump’s team of “naivety on an incredible scale.”
“What’s most worrying,” he said, “is not just what was said, but that it happened at all.”
Among the leaked texts were derogatory comments by Defense Secretary Hegseth describing Europe as “pathetic free-loaders” and griping about “having to bail them out again.”
We’ve all sent messages to the wrong person before, but this is on another level.
Will Geddes
“Most of us in the military and security space ditched Signal ages ago,” de Bretton-Gordon said.
The leak surfaced just as US and Russian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia about a potential Ukraine ceasefire — threatening to derail fragile diplomatic progress.
“For those of us in Europe—and especially for the people in Ukraine—it’s incredibly depressing,” said de Bretton-Gordon.
“This gives hope to Putin. It confirms his belief that he’s winning, and that the Americans are divided and distracted.
“Putin, the evil tyrant that he is, is a master strategist. One of his two key goals in invading Ukraine was to decouple Europe from the U.S.
“Reading these messages, you’d think he’s achieved that already.”
Both experts agreed that the consequences could be grave — not just for American credibility but for the safety of allied forces.
“This isn’t just embarrassing,” de Bretton-Gordon warned.
“Mistakes at this level can cost lives. In warfare, ambiguity and inconsistency are deadly.
“You never, ever tell your enemy what you will or won’t do. But that’s exactly what these messages have done.”
One leaked text reportedly revealed Hegseth’s reluctance to defend European ships in the Red Sea — triggering further alarm about U.S. reliability.
“NATO has kept the peace since WWII, but its strongest pillar is the U.S. military,” said de Bretton-Gordon.
“If that can’t be relied on, then Europe is in serious trouble.”
Crisis mode
The White House has been in damage control mode after the stunning leak of top secret war plans were mistakenly shared with a journalist on a group chat.
As well as denying that any war plans were being texted, Hegseth ripped into Goldberg, calling him a “deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist”.
He accused him of “peddling hoaxes time and time again,” citing past reports on Trump’s alleged Russia ties and disputed remarks about fallen U.S. soldiers.
Goldberg fired back on MSNBC, saying Hegseth’s denial was “a lie” and that the messages he received contained “precise details” of the March 15 strikes — including specific targets, sequencing of the operation, and what weapons would be deployed.
“It was a minute-by-minute accounting of what was about to happen, organized by CENTCOM,” he said.
The White House National Security Council confirmed the messages “appear to be authentic” and announced a review into how Goldberg’s number was added to the group.
NSC spokesman Brian Hughes described the thread as “a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials,” but failed to address why they were using Signal — an app available to the public — to discuss sensitive military operations.
President Trump, meanwhile, claimed total ignorance when asked about the leak.
He told reporters: “I don’t know anything about it.
“I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business.”
According to Goldberg, the leak began on March 11, when he spoke with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Signal and was later added to a chat named “Houthi PC small group.”
The editor believes he was mistaken for Jamieson Greer, a former U.S. Trade Representative, due to their shared initials “JG.”
Over the following days, Goldberg received messages from senior Trump officials during the strikes.
The incident has rocked the Trump administration, with Waltz reportedly at risk of losing his job.
“It was reckless not to check who was on the thread,” a senior official told Politico.
“You can’t have recklessness as the national security adviser.”
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Despite the uproar, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that “President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.”
Democratic senator Ruben Gallego slammed the fiasco as “amateur hour,” while experts and lawmakers demand answers on how such a colossal breach of national security happened — and why war plans were being discussed in a group chat in the first place.
