Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic who published a report about senior US officials sharing sensitive information with him by “mistake” over a Signal chat, has said he is now being targeted by senior Donald Trump administration officials in Washington. In an interview to BBC, he said: “They invite me into this Signal chat and now they’re attacking me as a sleaze bag, I don’t even get it.”
With the episode taking Washington by storm, US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz admitted that he “mistakenly” added Goldberg to the group chat on the Signal messaging app that is used to send encrypted messages, suggesting the invite was meant for someone else.
However, his journalistic stroke of luck that turned into one of the year’s most explosive scoops also made Goldberg a lightning rod for political backlash, with President Trump calling him a “loser” and a “sleazebag”, and Waltz calling him “scum” and a liar.
Goldberg became the unexpected recipient of classified details when senior members of the Trump administration discussed a covert military operation in Yemen on the Signal group chat he was mistakenly added to. The participants — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — appeared unaware of his presence as they outlined the operation’s targets, timing, and strategy.
ALSO READ ON ABP LIVE | US Top Spy Chief Tulsi Gabbard Quizzed After White House Leaks War Plans To Journalist
‘Most 8-Year-Olds Could Figure That Out’
In an interview to the BBC on Wednesday, Goldberg recalled the moment he was looped into the encrypted conversation on Signal, which is popular among government officials and journalists. Goldberg said he received a message from an account by the name of Waltz, which he in fact thought was a hoax.
“I wish there was a Le Carré quality here,” he said, referring to the British author known for his spy novels. “But he asked me to talk. I said yes. And next thing I know, I’m in this very strange chat group with the national security leadership of the United States.”
While Waltz claimed he had meant to invite someone else entirely and insisted he wouldn’t know the editor if he bumped into him “if I saw him in a police lineup”, Goldberg offered a different version.
“He can say whatever he wants,” he told the BBC. “But I’m not commenting on my relationship or non-relationship. As a reporter, I’m just not comfortable talking publicly about relationships I may or may not have with people who are newsmakers.”
The Signal app requires users to have someone’s contact to connect — meaning Waltz couldn’t have texted Goldberg if he did not already have his number.
Waltz has said tech billionaire Elon Musk, who also heads the US Department Of Government Efficiency, to investigate how the mishap happened — a move Goldberg mocked: “Most 8-year-olds could figure that out.”
More concerning, Goldberg added, is that high-level officials were using Signal to discuss classified military operations.
BREAKING: Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic @TheAtlantic has just released the FULL Text Message Chain.
I have provided all texts in this post and the thread below:
CHECK MATE! 🧵 pic.twitter.com/UvSj4jJdHi
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) March 26, 2025
If A Junior Officer Mishandled Such Sensitive Info, They Would Be Fired: Goldberg
In his initial Atlantic piece, Goldberg had withheld details about the March 14 strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. But after officials denied any sensitive info was shared, it published the chat logs, including texts from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth detailing strike timing, aircraft, and weapons.
“Once Donald Trump said there was nothing to see here, essentially, and once Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe said there was no sensitive information, no classified information, et cetera – we felt like…we disagree,” Goldberg Tod BBC, adding: “They’re saying that, and we’re the ones who have the texts, so maybe people should see them.”
Hegseth has dismissed the messages as non-classified, but Goldberg disagreed: “If Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, is texting me, telling me the attack was about to be launched on Yemen – telling me what kind of aircraft are going to be used, what kind of weapons are going to be used, and when the bombs are going to fall two hours after the text is received – that seems sensitive information, war-planning information to me.”
Trump has backed Hegseth and the White House insists no classified material was shared. Still, according to Goldberg, the episode revealed double standards. He said if a junior officer mishandled such sensitive information this way they would “be fired…prosecuted”.
.@PressSec: “President Trump absolutely has the full confidence in his national security team… The American people should be grateful to these individuals — who are killing terrorists that the Biden administration allowed to run wild in the Middle East. That is the real story… pic.twitter.com/QosctGip7m
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 26, 2025
Though some were surprised that he left the group voluntarily, Goldberg said it was the ethical thing to do. Lawmakers in both parties are now calling for an investigation.
“There’s a part of me that would love to see what else is happening in there. But there’s a lot of different issues here related to law and ethics and all kinds of other issues that I really can’t go into,” Goldberg told BBC.
The senior journalist is no stranger to Trump’s attacks — he previously reported Trump calling fallen soldiers “suckers” and “losers”.
He dismissed the personal insults. “This is their move. You never defend, just attack… So I’m sitting there, minding my own business. They invite me into this Signal chat and now they’re attacking me as a sleaze bag, I don’t even get it.”
