Atlantic Publishes Signal Messages Detailing Hegseth’s Alleged Plans for Houthi Attacks
WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, The Atlantic published Signal messages exchanged among senior national security officials in the Trump administration, revealing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared precise details regarding warplane launch times, strike plans, and targets. This information was disseminated before U.S. forces carried out attacks against the Houthis in Yemen earlier this month.
This revelation comes after two days of intense scrutiny, during which top Cabinet members from Trump’s intelligence and defense agencies struggled to explain how information, deemed classified by current and former U.S. officials, ended up in an unclassified Signal chat that included Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
Hegseth has so far declined to comment on whether he shared classified information on Signal, dismissing questions by stating he did not reveal “war plans.” He is currently traveling in the Indo-Pacific region. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe informed the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that it was Hegseth’s responsibility to determine if the information he shared was classified.
The revealed details were remarkably specific, including information typically closely guarded to ensure the operational security of military strikes.
In the group chat, Hegseth posted:
“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”
“1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)”
“1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)”
“1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)”
“1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.”
“MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)”
“We are currently clean on OPSEC” — that is, operational security.
“Godspeed to our Warriors.”
Goldberg stated that he contacted the White House to inquire about potential objections to publication. The White House responded that it would prefer he not publish the information.
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