Donald Trump has blamed a ‘lower-level’ unnamed White House staffer for a major security breach, after sensitive military details about U.S. operations in Yemen were leaked to journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic through a secret Signal group chat.
In a recent interview with Newsmax, Trump offered a new theory for how Goldberg ended up in the chat where top-secret military plans were discussed. Trump suggested that someone who worked for National Security Adviser Michael Waltz—at a lower level—may have given Goldberg access to the conversation. According to Trump, this person might have known Goldberg’s number or contacted him through the app, allowing Goldberg to join the discussion.
“What it was, we believe, is somebody that was on the line with permission, somebody that was with 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,” the president said.
This explanation came after Waltz himself appeared on TV earlier, taking full responsibility for the situation.
“I take full responsibility. I built the group,” Waltz said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday. He called the leak “embarrassing” and promised to get to the bottom of the issue.
While the Trump administration strongly denied any sensitive information being leaked, The Atlantic stood by its reporting. The magazine confirmed that Goldberg had access to discussions involving top officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance. According to the report, these officials discussed detailed military plans, including specific targets and weapons. Such conversations are typically kept under strict confidentiality.
Retired General Barry McCaffery criticized the use of Signal for these discussions, saying that using the app to share sensitive military details was a major security risk. He warned that the information could be intercepted by foreign intelligence, putting lives in danger, especially those of U.S. military personnel.
After the leak, the Pentagon issued a warning that Russian hackers had successfully infiltrated Signal. The Pentagon’s advisory, released on March 18, warned that Russian hackers were using a vulnerability in the app to spy on encrypted messages. This came just days after the Yemen bombings, which took place on March 15.
Despite this, Trump continued to deny that any classified information was shared. In his interview, he insisted, “No, it wasn’t classified, as I understand it. There was no classified information.” He also defended the success of the military operation, saying, “There was no problem, and the attack was a tremendous success.”
Trump also took aim at The Atlantic in his interview, calling it “a terrible magazine” and accusing Goldberg of making up stories about him. He referred to a previous article by Goldberg, published in 2020, which claimed Trump had referred to fallen soldiers as “suckers and losers.” (See the clip below)
President Trump addresses to "Greg Kelly Reports" the apparent military action group chat which Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg claimed he was added to, in which Trump says no classified intel was revealed, and that Goldberg and The Atlantic are "losers." pic.twitter.com/G6uCtO3eXq
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) March 26, 2025
In response, a spokesperson for The Atlantic defended the magazine, saying, “Attempts to disparage and discredit The Atlantic, our editor, and our reporting follow an obvious playbook by elected officials and others in power who are hostile to journalists and the First Amendment rights of all Americans.” They added that the magazine would continue to “fearlessly and independently report the truth in the public interest.”
