Trump administration under pressure over leaked ‘war plan’
The Atlantic published details of a conversation on the messaging app Signal about a plan to attack Yemen’s Houthis on Wednesday. The administration of President Donald Trump has come under pressure over the leak of group chat information. Opposition Democratic lawmakers have demanded the resignation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Even before these details were released, a hearing on the issue has been underway in the Senate Intelligence Committee of the upper house of Congress since Tuesday. Democrats claim that the release of the plan to attack the Houthis has leaked state secrets. This poses a threat to national security. The Atlantic published details of a conversation on the messaging app Signal about a plan to attack Yemen’s Houthis on Wednesday. The administration of President Donald Trump has come under pressure over the leak of group chat information. Opposition Democratic lawmakers have demanded the resignation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Before these details were released, a hearing on the issue has been underway in the Senate Intelligence Committee of the upper house of Congress since Tuesday. Democrats claim that the disclosure of the plan to attack the Houthis has leaked state secrets. This has threatened national security. The details of the chat were revealed in the Atlantic on Wednesday. The March 15 discussion of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the attack on the Houthis in the chat is considered to be the most important and sensitive.
The Atlantic claims that in the chat, the Defense Secretary mentioned the time of the attack and what type of aircraft would be used. The effectiveness of previous attacks on the Houthis was also discussed.
Houthi officials claim that 53 people, including women and five children, were killed in the US attack.
In a message in the chat, Hegseth wrote, “The weather is favorable. Just confirmed to CENTCOM that we are going to start the operation. 14:15: Drone hit target (first bomb will be dropped at this time).’
Mike Waltz later wrote in a message about the location of a targeted facility, citing intelligence at the time of the attack. According to the Atlantic report, the facility appears to be located in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
According to the BBC report, Defense Secretary Hegseth responded to the publication of the Atlantic report. He again loudly claimed that there was nothing secret in the chat.
Hegseth wrote on social media X, ‘The Atlantic has released the so-called “war plan”. These “plans” did not mention any names. There was no mention of any targets. There was no mention of any locations. There was no mention of any units. There was no name of any route to carry out the attack. There was no mention of any sources. “It was not even about the method of attack,” Defense Secretary Hegseth said. “This proves that Jeffrey Goldberg never saw a war plan or an “attack plan” (as he now claims). He was nowhere near one.” Hegseth added, “We will continue our work. In the meantime, the media will do what it does best—(which is) spread lies.” Trump spokeswoman Carolyn Levitt told reporters on Wednesday local time that National Security Adviser Mike Waltz had taken responsibility for the “mistake.” But she added that the president “has confidence in the national security team.”
