• by Ray Schultz , March 24, 2025

Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, found out on March 15 that he had been handed a huge scoop. 

“The world found out shortly before 2 p.m. eastern time on March 15 that the United States was bombing Houthi targets across Yemen,” Goldberg writes.

He continues,  “I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might be coming. The reason I knew this is that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, had texted me the war plan at 11:44 a.m. The plan included precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing.”

In what some observers call “an extraordinary blunder,” the war information was disseminated on Signal, a widely used app that reportedly is not approved for sharing classified information. 

Other parties to the thread included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Goldberg apparently was included by mistake. 

The Trump administration acknowledged the incident, although Hegseth has denied it. 

Goldberg promptly did a story, without revealing the actual war plans.