Newly published texts reveal the minute-to-minute breakdown of the “war plans,” weapons and targets in Yemen as Trump administration officials and military leaders discussed the operation with one journalist privy to the entire conversation.
The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffery Goldberg, who was inadvertently added to the Signal chat group discussing sensitive military operations, has published the messages after the White House and senior U.S. officials repeatedly claimed the chat did not contain classified information.
The messages from Hegseth, sent on March 15, the day of the attack, contain a detailed timeline of when U.S. forces would strike Houthi targets in Yemen and the type of weapons they would use. “Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME,” one of the messages Hegseth wrote that day said.
After the messages were published, Karoline Leavitt issued another denial. “The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT ‘war plans,’” Leavitt said in a post on X. “This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin.”
Hegseth shared the plan approximately two hours before the bombs dropped in Yemen, The Atlantic reported. Some 53 people, including children, were killed in the attacks.
Those featured in the chat include Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, CIA director John Ratcliffe and Vice President JD Vance, who were among those interacting with Hegseth when he shared the plans. There were 19 members in the chat group, according to the screenshots published by The Atlantic. The outlet said it has redacted the name of a CIA official who is named in the messages by Ratcliffe.
At 11: 44.a.m., Hegseth began posting the detailed plans in the chat and announced a “TEAM UPDATE.”
“TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch,” Hegseth said, referring to the military’s Central Command in the Middle East.
The head of the Pentagon then shared the timings of the attack.
“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package),” Hegseth said. “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).”
At 2:10 p.m., “more F-18s” were to launch, Hegseth said. “1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets),” Hegseth wrote.
“1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched,” Hegseth said. At the end of the plans, he wrote: “Godspeed to our Warriors.”
Vance messaged the group afterward and said: “I will say a prayer for victory.”
At 1:48 p.m., Waltz then sent real-time intelligence about the attack site, confirming one of the targets had collapsed, the outlet reported. “VP. Building collapsed. Had multiple positive ID. Pete, Kurilla, the IC, amazing job.”
The vice president praised the group following the confirmation, and Waltz responded with emojis.
“Great job all,” Hegseth said. “More strikes ongoing for hours tonight, and will provide full initial report tomorrow. But on time, on target, and good readouts so far.”
In its reporting, The Atlantic notes that if the messages had been received by a hostile actor ahead of time, the Houthis “would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their stronghold.”
“The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic,” the report adds.
The White House said it objected to the release of the messages in a statement to The Atlantic.
Screenshots of the messages were published by The Atlantic and show a contact named “Michael Waltz” added Goldberg to the group. It also showed that messages in the end-to-end encrypted app were initially set to disappear after one week. After Hegseth sent the plans, the settings were changed by Waltz so that messages would disappear after four weeks.
Waltz said he took “full responsibility” and that he was investigating how Goldberg had gained access to the chat.
“I take full responsibility. I built the group,” Waltz told Fox News’s Ingraham Angle on Tuesday. “It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.”
Alina Habba, counselor to President Donald Trump, spoke to reporters Wednesday and said journalists were “making a big to do about nothing.”
“We stand by Mike Waltz; he’s doing a tremendous job. I think this is a distraction,” Habba said. “We would love if the press, for once, would focus on the actual facts and actions of the administration. This is just — this is frankly just noise.”
“We’re also allowed to use Signal for top level official communications. We also have other means of communications that were used,” she added.
Trump claimed that Waltz was “a good man” who had “learned his lesson” and would not be fired. The president also blamed sharing the messages on an error from “one of Michael’s people” that did not amount to a “serious” issue.
The Pentagon warned officials around the time of the leak that government officials shouldn’t use Signal, an encrypted messaging app, even for sharing unclassified material because of a “vulnerability” leaving it open to exploitation by foreign adversaries.
