President Trump said on Tuesday he feels “very comfortable” with the outcome of the Signal group chat in which top Cabinet officials reportedly discussed U.S. plans to bomb Houthi rebels in Yemen — and apparently did not realize a journalist was included in the chat as well.
Trump, in an interview with Newsmax that aired Tuesday, said classified information was not disclosed in the leaked group chat — despite The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg’s insistence otherwise — and noted the attacks against the Houthis were “a tremendous success.”
“What it was, we believe, is somebody that was on the line with permission — somebody that was with [national security adviser] Mike Waltz, worked for Mike Waltz at a lower level — had, I guess, Goldberg's number or called through the app, and somehow this guy ended up on the call,” Trump said, detailing the White House’s understanding of how Goldberg ended up in the highly sensitive chat.
“Now, it wasn't classified, as I understand it,” he continued. “There was no classified information. There was no problem, and the attack was a tremendous success.”
Trump added, “So, I can only go by what I've been told. I wasn't involved in it, but I was told by — and the other people weren't involved at all — but I feel very comfortable actually.”
Goldberg published a story Monday detailing how Waltz apparently added him to a Signal group chat by mistake. The error was compounded when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth texted detailed information about the planned strikes to the group about two hours before they took place.
The chat included several other top officials from Trump’s Cabinet, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and others.
Goldberg initially refrained from publishing the detailed war plans that were allegedly sent around in the chat, saying he did not want to compromise U.S. intelligence and noting the information was classified. But after many Trump administration officials insisted the no classified information was disclosed, Goldberg on Wednesday opted to release additional messages backing up his reporting.
Trump previously brushed off news of the leak, citing modern problems with technology, and defended his administration. Other White House officials have also acknowledged the mistake while pushing back against mounting criticism over national security implications of the supposed breach.
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