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| Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth |
assailed the editor of The Atlantic over his assertion that someone from the White House accidentally leaked war plans to him, telling reporters that Jeffrey Goldberg
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| Jeffrey Goldberg |
"peddles in garbage."
"Nobody was texting war plans, and that's all I have to say about that," Hegseth told reporters after landing in Hawaii on Monday.
The National Security Council, however, said the message thread "appears to be authentic."
In an article released Monday, Goldberg wrote that on March 11 he received a "connection request" on the Signal app from White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, which he accepted, thinking that Waltz "wanted to chat about Ukraine, or Iran, or some other important matter."
According to Goldberg, Vice President J.D. Vance, Hegseth, and Waltz used the group chat to discuss possible military action in Yemen against the Houthis. The editor noted that one post from Hegseth "contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing."
Hegseth took aim at Goldberg.
"You're talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who's made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again to include the, I don't know, the hoaxes of 'Russia, Russia, Russia' or the 'fine people on both sides' hoax. Or 'suckers and losers' hoax," Hegseth said, referring to past reports about President Donald Trump that were ultimately refuted.
"So this is the guy that peddles in garbage. This is what he does," Hegseth told the gaggle.
However, NSC spokesman Brian Hughes said there is a review afoot as to how it happened.
"We are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain. The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our service members or our national security," Hughes said in a statement.
In a statement late Monday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the president still has the "utmost confidence" in Waltz and the national security team.
However, Politico reported that conversations have begun in the West Wing that Waltz needs to be fired.
"You can't have recklessness as the national security adviser," one official told Politico.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters Monday, "We're very concerned about it, and we'll be looking into it on a bipartisan basis."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he wants to learn more about what happened.
"Obviously, we got to run it to the ground, figure out what went on there," said Thune.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., offered a notably forgiving posture.
"I think it would be a terrible mistake for there to be adverse consequences on any of the people that were involved in that call," Johnson said. "They were trying to do a good job, the mission was accomplished with precision."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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