After landing in Hawaii on Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied a report that he texted war plans to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic.
“So, you are talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who has made a profession of peddling hoaxes,” Hegseth said in part to reporters.
“Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that,” Hegseth continued.
On Monday, The Atlantic reported that Hegseth and other high-ranking Trump administration officials used Signal to relay plans for upcoming military strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The text thread, according to the magazine, included editor Jeffrey Goldberg.
Later Monday, the National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.”
Hegseth was in Hawaii to meet with civilian and military leaders at Indo-Pacific Command, tour U.S. military installations in Guam, receive briefings on operational capabilities, and then continue on to the Philippines and Japan.
Reporter: Can you share how your information about war plans was shared with a journalist?
Hegseth: So you are talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who has made a profession of peddling hoaxes pic.twitter.com/JXegFXbdpP
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 24, 2025
This is a developing news story and will be updated as more information is available.