Signalgate

Extracted Attributes

• Event Type

  Operational Security Failure

• Key Issues Raised

  Information security practices, adherence to records-preservation laws, accountability

• Affected Administration

  Trump Administration

• Military Operation Target

  Houthis in Yemen

• Military Operation Codename

  Operation Rough Rider

• Military Operation Location

  Red Sea

• Primary Communication Platform

  Signal (messaging app)

• Other Communication Platforms Used

  Personal Gmail accounts (by Waltz's team)

Timeline

• United States national security leaders began conversing on a Signal group chat about imminent military operations against the Houthis in Yemen (Operation Rough Rider). (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025-03-11

• National Security Advisor Mike Waltz inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to the Signal group chat. (Source: Mass 50501)

  2025-03-13

• Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth used the Signal chat to share sensitive and classified details of impending airstrikes, including aircraft and missile types, and launch/attack times. CIA Director John Ratcliffe also mentioned the name of an active undercover CIA officer. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025-03-15

• Jeffrey Goldberg published a partially redacted transcript of the Signal chat in The Atlantic, making its contents public. The White House's National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes verified the chat's authenticity. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025-03-24

• The Atlantic published the entire transcript of the Signal chat after other Trump administration officials disputed Goldberg's characterization of redacted sections. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025-03-25

United States government group chat leaks

From March 11 to 15, 2025, a group of United States national security leaders conversed on a group chat using the messaging service Signal about imminent military operations against the Houthis in Yemen code-named Operation Rough Rider. Among the chat's members were Vice President JD Vance, top White House staff, three Cabinet secretaries, and the directors of two Intelligence Community agencies. A high-profile leak occurred when National Security Advisor Mike Waltz erroneously added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the American magazine The Atlantic and the moderator of the PBS weekly news program Washington Week, to the group. On March 15, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth used the chat to share sensitive and classified details of the impending airstrikes, including types of aircraft and missiles, as well as launch and attack times. The name of an active undercover CIA officer was mentioned by CIA director John Ratcliffe in the chat, while Vance and Hegseth expressed contempt for European allies. The contents of the chat became public on March 24, when Goldberg published a partially redacted transcript in The Atlantic. The White House's National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes verified the chat's authenticity. After other Trump administration officials disputed Goldberg's characterization of the redacted sections as likely containing classified information, The Atlantic published the entire transcript on March 25. The incident raised concerns about national security leaders' information security practices, what other sensitive information they might have revealed, whether they were following records-preservation laws, accountability in the Trump administration, and more. The political scandal was nicknamed Signalgate in the media. A forensic investigation by the White House information technology office determined that Waltz had inadvertently saved Goldberg's phone number under Hughes' contact information. Waltz then added Goldberg to the chat while trying to add Hughes. Subsequently, investigative journalists reported Waltz's team regularly created group chats to coordinate official work and that Hegseth shared details about missile strikes in Yemen to a second group chat which included his wife, his brother, and his lawyer.

Web Search Results

• What Is Signalgate? - BlackBerry

  While Signal is designed to be secure, its use for classified communications is not approved by the US government, and the incident highlighted the potential vulnerabilities of using commercial apps for sensitive discussions. “Signalgate” has raised concerns about the intersection of technology, national security, and proper governmental protocols. The Administration has denied any leakage of classified information but bipartisan pressure from Senate Armed Services Committee leaders has [...] According to The Atlantic, March 2025 discussions between top members of President Trump’s Cabinet involving military strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen and highly sensitive operational details took place on Signal, an encrypted but non-NSA-certified communication platform. The Atlantic reported these discussions because a journalist from the publication had been mistakenly added to the Signal group chat by a participant. [...] # Signalgate: A US Government Group Chat Leak ## What Is Signalgate?

• What is Signal, and how secure is the messaging app ... - TechRadar

  Signal is a messaging app that's available for iOS and Android devices. Like the best messaging apps, it supports cross-platform text, voice and video chats. What sets Signal apart is its robust privacy features: it’s regarded as the benchmark for secure mobile communications. Which makes Signalgate all the more ironic, even though it has little to do with the app's technical security. [...] 'Signalgate' continues to rumble on, with even more of the Signal messages that were shared between Trump officials – and, inadvertently, The Atlantic – revealed today. But how exactly did this group chat debacle happen, and what does it say about Signal? We've answered all of this and more in our one-stop explainer about the app that's in the eye of a political storm.

• Mike Waltz grilled over Signal leak at UN ambassador hearing - BBC

  Under questioning from Democrats, Waltz maintained he did not share classified information in the chat, which accidentally included a journalist. The March incident, which became known as "Signalgate", threw the White House into turmoil and sparked a debate about the administration's cybersecurity.

• SignalGate: What is it and why are people upset about ... - Mass 50501

  # SignalGate: What is it and why are people upset about it? Have you heard about something the internet is calling “SignalGate”? Whether you have no idea what it is or you’re struggling to separate fact from fiction, we’ve put together this guide to help you sift through everything on the internet to actually understand what’s going on and why so many people are upset about it. What is Signal? [...] Signal is a call and message app that promises it can’t read your messages or listen in on your calls because it uses end-to-end encryption to protect your data and unencrypted data is only stored locally on your device. That makes it a lot harder for people to read your messages as they get sent and prevents Signal itself from being able to read your messages and sell information about your conversations to other companies. Signal also gives you the ability to delete a message you sent for [...] On March 24th, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg published an article reporting that he was inadvertently added by national security advisor Mike Waltz to a Signal group chat on March 13th called “Houthi PC small group.” The group included some of Trump’s top officials, including Waltz, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Vice President JD Vance. On March

• Newsletter: Signalgate Scandal Fallout Continues and New Details ...

  Following our lawsuit and successful motion for a court order for top officials to preserve their Signal messages, we expanded our investigation into the Trump administration’s misuse of auto-deleting messaging platforms for government business. As it turns out, it’s not just Signal that has been used for government work. On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that Waltz and his staff had also used personal Gmail accounts to conduct official business. [...] The fallout from the Signalgate scandal and American Oversight’s legal actions against Trump administration officials for violations of public records laws continued this week, with new revelations about the use of nonofficial communication platforms and growing concerns about whether records are being preserved. [...] American Oversight American Oversight logo American Oversight logo # Newsletter: Signalgate Scandal Fallout Continues and New Details About the Trump Administration’s Record-Keeping Practices Emerge New revelations about the Trump administration’s records retention policies emerged this week, as American Oversight’s public records law litigation against top administration officials continued.