Roger Stone criticizes Trump officials over war plans group chat

Republican political operative Roger Stone, generally a fierce defender of President Trump, said high-level administration officials were wrong to use a private app to communicate sensitive military plans, during an interview with NewsNation's Chris Cuomo on Monday.

"Secure conversations shouldn’t be had over any app that is available," Stone said. "I don't think there are any secure at all."

The Atlantic reported Monday that Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included on a group chat, using the encrypted messaging app Signal, in which top officials discussed plans for the then-imminent March 15 surprise military air strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen.

The group included Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Goldberg's report on Monday sent shockwaves across the political landscape, with some Republicans expressing alarm, or at least asking for answers. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said he was nearly certain that Russia and China would have seen the chats as well.

“Americans, unfortunately, should assume that everything that you look at, everything you write, everything you say, can ultimately be accessed,” said Stone, a long-time confidant of President Trump. "In retrospect, they probably should use a more secure chain."

Hegseth reportedly sent the group explicit details in the exchange, which Goldberg said he initially suspected could be misinformation or a hoax until bombs started dropping as discussed.

"The plan included precise information about weapons packages, targets and timing," Goldberg wrote in an article.

Waltz, who added Goldberg to the chain, and Hegseth have faced calls from Democrats for their resignation over the snafu, but GOP leaders have mostly stood by them.

"Apparently an inadvertent phone number made it onto that thread. They’re going to track that down and make sure that doesn’t happen again," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters Monday.

"Clearly, I think the administration has acknowledged it was a mistake, and they’ll tighten up and make sure it doesn’t happen again."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on the social platform X on Tuesday that Trump "continues to have confidence in his national security team."

Hegseth has denied sharing "war plans" or classified information on the thread. He blasted Goldberg as "a deceitful and highly discredited, so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again."

However, National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes confirmed to Goldberg that the group chat appeared to be authentic, and said officials were investigating how he had been included in it.

Goldberg hit back at Hegseth's claims during an interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Monday.

"That’s a lie. He was texting war plans," the long-time foreign affairs correspondent said. "He was texting attack plans. When targets were going to be targeted; how they were going to be targeted; who was at the targets; when the next sequence of attacks was happening."

Topics

Cornyn calls war plan group chat 'a huge screwup'

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) criticized the reported inclusion of an editor for The Atlantic in a group chat of Trump administration officials talking about a U.S. plan to bomb targets in Yemen. ...
The Hill - 1d
Former Pentagon official on war plans group chat: ‘There’s going to be a fallout’

Former Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said late Monday that she believes there is going to be ‘a fallout” from revelations that top Trump administration officials created a group ...
The Hill - 12h
5 takeaways from Trump officials war planning group chat breach

Washington was rocked Monday by a truly extraordinary story. The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, recounted how he had — apparently inadvertently — been added to a group chat ...
The Hill - 1d
Atlantic journalist says Trump officials included him in war plans group chat

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, was apparently included in a Trump administration group chat on Signal in which top officials debated and then discussed details of attacks ...
The Hill - 1d
Atlantic editor-in-chief mistakenly placed on Trump officials’ war plans group chat

The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, says he was mistakenly added to a group chat with Trump administration officials on the commercial encrypted messaging app Signal. ...
NBC News - 1d
Clinton World takes victory lap after Trump war plans group chat

When the news broke on Monday that a group of top Trump administration officials had convened a text chat to discuss classified information including war plans, those who worked for Hillary Clinton ...
The Hill - 3h
Yemen war plans group chat: A timeline of the mishap

Officials inadvertently added a reporter to an unsecured group chat discussing plans for a U.S. attack on Houthis in Yemen. Here's a look at a timeline of the events.
ABC News - 4h
John Bolton: ‘Stunning’ no one on war plans group chat said ‘we ought to get off Signal’

Former national security adviser John Bolton said it was “stunning” that none of the Trump administration officials on a war planning group chat suggested they not use Signal. Bolton joined ...
The Hill - 14h
Watch: House GOP leaders hold press conference amid group chat blowback

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his GOP leadership team held a press conference Tuesday morning, as the Trump administration faced a chorus of criticism over a war plans group chat that ...
The Hill - 12h
Lawmakers demand probe into group chat on Trump team's war plans

The editor of The Atlantic reported that he was accidentally included in a Trump administration group chat about the U.S. plans to bomb Yemen.
CBS News - 14h
Messages with Yemen war plans shared with reporter appears 'authentic': Official

Members of the Trump administration coordinated highly sensitive Yemen attack plans on an unsecure group chat, a White House official confirmed.
ABC News - 14h
Schumer blasts Trump officials for war plans Signal chat

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) panned the Trump administration over Monday’s “stunning” report that top officials used an unauthorized messaging platform to discuss planned attacks ...
The Hill - 1d
What to know about Signal, app used by Trump officials for war plans

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other Trump officials allegedly used Signal for a group chat to discuss a highly sensitive operation.
CBS News - 2h
Outrage in Washington after journalist included in war plans group chat

Presented by Boeing {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Outrage after journalist included in officials' war plans group chat All Washington could talk ...
The Hill - 1d
Trump Officials in Leaked Signal Chat Had Criticized Hillary Clinton’s Private Email Server

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who disclosed war plans in a Signal group with a journalist, condemned Mrs. Clinton’s actions in November 2016.
The New York Times - 9h
Trump on war plans group chat: 'It’s just something that can happen'

President Trump on Tuesday acknowledged a mistake occurred when a journalist was swept up in a text message chain with top administration officials on plans for an attack on Houthi rebels, saying ...
The Hill - 5h
White House pushes back at war plans group chat story

The White House on Tuesday sought to downplay the significance of a journalist being added to a group chat of administration officials discussing plans for attacks against Houthi rebels in Yemen. ...
The Hill - 12h
Atlantic editor on war plans group chat: 'It's unbelievable'

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, said in a Monday interview he had a hard time believing the group chat he was included in with top Trump Cabinet appointees was authentic because ...
The Hill - 12h
Senate Armed Services chair confirms plans to investigate war plan group chat

Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) confirmed Tuesday that the committee plans to investigate The Atlantic’s reports of a Signal group chat where a journalist was apparently ...
The Hill - 6h
Former Obama DOJ official calls for FBI investigation into war plans text chat

Former Obama Justice Department official Matthew Miller called for an FBI investigation after The Atlantic’s bombshell report that its editor was included in a group chat of Trump administration ...
The Hill - 1d
Democrats slam Hegseth over texted war plan

Democrats are sharply criticizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after it was revealed The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief was added to a text group chat about the administration’s plans to attack ...
The Hill - 1d
War plans group chat raises questions about Signal, cybersecurity

Top Trump administration national security officials' use of the messaging app Signal is raising new questions about the platform and how the administration is transmitting sensitive government ...
The Hill - 3h
Democrats grill Trump officials over leaked group chat

President Trump said his national security advisor does not need to apologize after a reporter said Michael Waltz mistakenly invited him into an encrypted group chat about military operations. ...
NBC News - 2h
Trump officials testify amid fallout over group chat

{beacon} It’s a busy Tuesday in Washington. HBO’s “The Last of Us” is returning on April 13! If you’re planning on rewatching the first season, now is a good time to do so. In today's issue: ...
The Hill - 8h
Live updates: Ratcliffe, Gabbard pressed on war plans Signal group chat

The Trump administration is scrambling to contain the fallout from a bombshell Atlantic article revealing its editor-in-chief had been mistakenly included in a Signal group chat involving national ...
The Hill - 7h
Trump Officials Disclosed Military Plans in a Group Chat

Also, paper bags might not be as green as you think. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.
The New York Times - 1d
Signal gets closer look amid uproar over Trump officials' group chat

{beacon} Technology Technology The Big Story Signal thrown into spotlight amid group chat breach Top Trump national security officials' use of messaging app Signal is raising new questions ...
The Hill - 4h
Trump administration faces group chat fallout: From the Politics Desk

The Trump administration is dealing with the fallout over a journalist appearing to have been accidentally added to a group chat among about U.S. plans to strike Houthis in Yemen
NBC News - 1d
Hegseth says ‘nobody was texting war plans’ after chat emerges

Top officials reportedly discussed secret U.S. military plans in a group chat with journalist Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic who was inadvertently added. Secretary of State Pete Hegseth says ...
NBC News - 14h
Jon Stewart Thinks He May Be in the ‘Bomb Yemen’ Chat Group

The “Daily Show” host suspects that he, too, might have been invited to a discussion of secret war plans by a bumbling official in the Trump administration.
The New York Times - 19h
Top intel officials claim no classified information was shared in group chat with journalist

President Donald Trump’s top intelligence officials claimed on Tuesday that they did not share any classified materials in a group text about U.S. military plans that inadvertently included a ...
NBC News - 10h
Thune: GOP will find out how journalist was included in Trump war plans chat group

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) says Republican senators will get to the bottom of how Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, got added to a group chat among ...
The Hill - 1d
Jeffries calls for firing Hegseth over war plans group chat

Politico - 4h
Jeffries calls for firing Hegseth over war plans group chat

Politico - 4h
Hegseth Disclosed Secret War Plans in Group Chat With Atlantic Journalist

The conversation among the defense secretary and other national security officials on a commercial messaging app mistakenly included the editor in chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg.
The New York Times - 20h
Trump downplays Yemen war plans group chat fiasco: 'It can happen'

"At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain," the NSC said.
ABC News - 3h
Top US officials added journalist to group chat on Yemen strike plans

A National Security Council spokesman said in a statement the reported chat "appears to be authentic"
BBC News - 22h
GOP airs concerns — but treads lightly — over war plans Signal chat: 'It's just wrong'

Congressional Republicans on Monday aired concerns about the Trump administration’s handling of classified material after a report showed top officials used an unauthorized messaging platform to ...
The Hill - 1d
House Republican calls for 'safeguards' after war plan text chat

GOP Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) called for “safeguards” to be implemented to ensure the leaking of war plans doesn’t happen again after a journalist was included in a Signal group chat discussing ...
The Hill - 1d