'Nobody Was Texting War Plans': US Defence Secretary Denies Messaging App Discussions As Claimed By Journalist

While calling The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg "a deceitful and highly discredited" journalist, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that nobody was discussing war plans over texts.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Source : X/@SecDef

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that any discussions about war took place over texts on the messaging app Signal. This comes after The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg said in a report on Monday, that he was invited on March 13 to a chat group called the "Houthi PC small group" on the messaging app.

Goldberg said that he knew two hours before about the attack because Hegseth posted operational details about the plan in the messaging group, "including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing".

'Deceitful, Discredited Journalist'

However, Hegseth while speaking to reporters on Tuesday said, that Goldberg is “a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist” who “made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again...This is a guy who peddles in garbage...Nobody was texting war plans and that's all I have to say.”

Hegseth denied sharing war plans in the group chat.

"Nobody was texting war plans, and that's all I have to say about that," he said.

'Not A Big Fan Of The Atlantic'

Meanwhile, Trump reacting to this said that he was unaware of the incident. "I don't know anything about it. I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic".

BREAKING: Trump just pretended that he knows "nothing about" the leaked texts from Pete Hegseth and then attacks The Atlantic, even though the White House CONFIRMED an hour ago that they did in fact send the texts to The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief.

But..but...but HER EMAIL! https://t.co/Aw1Ybkgehs pic.twitter.com/jfknPTVblj

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) March 24, 2025

Goldberg in his report said he received a request from Michael Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser but he initially believed it to be someone masquerading as Waltz.

As per a Reuters report, Democratic lawmakers blasted the misstep, saying it was a breach of US national security and a violation of law that needs to be investigated by Congress.

National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes acknowledged the misstep and said the chat group appeared to be authentic.

Trump launched a series of large-scale military strikes against Yemen's Houthi forces on March 15 in response to their attacks on Red Sea shipping. He also issued a warning to Iran, the Houthis' primary supporter, demanding an immediate end to its backing of the group.