Waltz owns up to Yemen military plan leak: 'I take full responsibility'

US NSA Mike Waltz admits mistakenly adding journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a Yemen military chat; President Donald Trump defends Waltz, says 'he is not getting fired'

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has accepted "full responsibility" for adding The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat where senior American officials discussed planned military strikes on Yemen.  

 

"I take full responsibility. I built the group; my job is to make sure everything's coordinated," Waltz told Fox News on Tuesday.  

 

Waltz clarified that he does not personally know Goldberg, who was mistakenly included in the chat. "It's embarrassing. We're going to get to the bottom of it," he said.  

 

He further said that he had spoken with Tesla CEO and Trump adviser Elon Musk earlier in the day about the incident. "We've got the best technical minds looking at how this happened," he added.  

 

Waltz suggested that the mistake occurred due to a contact mix-up. "Have you ever had somebody's contact that shows their name and then you have somebody else's number?" he explained.  

 

"We made a mistake. We’re moving forward," he said.  

Security breach

The controversy arose when Goldberg was unexpectedly added to a private Signal chat where top US officials were discussing imminent military operations against Yemen’s Houthi armed group.  

 

On March 11, Goldberg received a message request on the encrypted messaging app from someone using the name "Michael Waltz." The chat included high-ranking figures such as Vice President JD Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and National Security Adviser Waltz himself.  

 

Unaware of Goldberg’s presence, Waltz shared sensitive details, including attack timing, weaponry specifications, and military morale, inadvertently exposing critical strategic information.  

 

Days later, on Monday, Goldberg detailed the incident in The Atlantic in an article titled 'The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans'.  

 

“I have never seen a breach quite like this,” Goldberg wrote, explaining that he eventually informed the White House of the security lapse before leaving the conversation.  

 

Trump dismisses controversy

 

US President Donald Trump downplayed the incident on Tuesday when asked about it by reporters. "There was no classified information," he said, adding that Signal, the commercial messaging app used in the chat, is widely used by government officials.  

 

On The Atlantic, Trump said, "I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me, it's a magazine that’s going out of business. I think it’s not much of a magazine, but I know nothing about it."  

 

Responding to Trump’s remarks, The Atlantic issued a statement to chat show The Ingraham Angle, 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."  

 

Trump stands by Waltz amid calls for resignation

 

Despite backlash from Democrats calling for the resignations of Waltz and Defense Secretary Hegseth, Trump defended his national security adviser, making it clear that Waltz would not be dismissed over the blunder.  

 

"He's not getting fired," Trump told Fox News, calling the incident a "mistake" but insisting there was "nothing important" in the chat.  

 

"I don't think he should apologise," Trump said, adding, "I think he's doing his best. It's equipment and technology that's not perfect."