A journalist accidentally "got" into a secret US Defense Department chat group about plans to attack the Houthi group in Yemen

The White House confirmed that the US Department of Defense accidentally revealed plans to attack the Houthi group in Yemen in an encrypted chat group on the Signal app and that a journalist was in that group.

From left: US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office on March 24. (Source: NYT)

According to The Atlantic , editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added to the chat group by national security adviser Michael Waltz just two hours before the US launched an attack on Houthi forces in Yemen.

Mr. Goldberg initially thought it was a hoax, but after witnessing senior officials like Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others exchanging sensitive military information, he realized he was facing a serious security breach.

This information has caused a stir in public opinion, especially when compared to the case of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who was criticized for using personal email. “Are you kidding me?”, Mrs. Clinton posted on social network X.

When asked, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied the allegation, saying “nobody texted about war plans.” Meanwhile, President Donald Trump claimed to have “no knowledge of the incident” and later mocked the story on social media.

Journalist Goldberg emphasized: “If The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief can access such information, it is clear that there is a serious flaw in the US national security system.”

The Pentagon referred questions about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's role in the Signal discussion to the National Security Council and the White House.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the administration is handling the incident, acknowledging it was a mistake and vowing to prevent a similar situation from happening again. “I’m not going to describe what happened,” he said. “I think the administration has acknowledged it was a mistake and they’re going to do more to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/mot-nha-bao-vo-tinh-bi-tham-gia-nhom-tro-chuyen-mat-cua-bo-quoc-phong-my-ve-ke-hoach-tan-cong-nhom-houthi-o-yemen-308740.html