Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sharply criticized Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, over his claim that war plans were inadvertently leaked to him from the White House. Hegseth called Goldberg’s reporting “garbage” when speaking to reporters after arriving in Hawaii on Monday.
“Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that,” Hegseth remarked, dismissing the allegations.
Despite Hegseth’s statement, the National Security Council (NSC) indicated that the message chain in question “appears to be authentic.”
In a piece published Monday, Goldberg detailed how, on March 11, he received a “connection request” via the Signal app from White House national security adviser Mike Waltz. Goldberg accepted, believing Waltz wanted to discuss topics like Ukraine, Iran, or other matters of importance.
Goldberg went on to explain that Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Waltz participated in a group chat about potential military operations against the Houthis in Yemen. The editor noted that one of Hegseth’s posts included specific operational details about future strikes, including target information, weapons to be used by the U.S., and the sequence of the attacks.
Hegseth wasted no time in rebutting Goldberg’s claims.
“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 previously debunked reports involving President Donald Trump.
“So this is the guy that peddles in garbage. This is what he does,” Hegseth told reporters, reaffirming his skepticism of Goldberg’s integrity.
However, National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes provided a different perspective, saying the matter was being reviewed.
“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 explained in a statement.
Later on Monday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt issued a statement affirming President Biden’s continued trust in Waltz and the national security team.
Nonetheless, Politico reported that discussions had started in the West Wing about potentially firing Waltz.
“You can’t have recklessness as the national security adviser,” one unnamed official told Politico.
Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, voiced concern about the incident, saying, “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., expressed a desire to understand the situation more thoroughly.
“Obviously, we got to run it to the ground, figure out what went on there,” Thune stated.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., took a more conciliatory approach, suggesting that no one involved should face negative repercussions.
“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 remarked. “They were trying to do a good job, the mission was accomplished with precision.”
{Matzav.com}The post Defense Secretary Hegseth Rejects Atlantic Report: ‘Nobody Was Texting War Plans’ first appeared on Matzav.com.