INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
President Donald Trump sought to downplay the significance of the texts shared on the Signal messaging app.The following is what The
Atlantic has revealed on its website:So, about that Signal chat.On Monday, shortly after we published a story about a massive
Trump-administration security breach, a reporter asked the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, why he had shared plans about a forthcoming
attack on Yemen on the Signal messaging app
the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, were both asked about the Signal chat, to which Jeffrey Goldberg, the
editor in chief of The Atlantic, was inadvertently invited by National Security Adviser Michael Waltz
related to weapons and to the timing of attacks that we found in certain texts
As a general rule, we do not publish information about military operations if that information could possibly jeopardize the lives of U.S
That is why we chose to characterize the nature of the information being shared, not specific details about the attacks.The statements by
There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels,
especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared.Experts have
repeatedly told us that use of a Signal chat for such sensitive discussions poses a threat to national security
As a case in point, Goldberg received information on the attacks two hours before the scheduled start of the bombing of Houthi positions
two-hour period, American pilots and other American personnel could have been exposed to even greater danger than they ordinarily would face
administration if they objected to us publishing the full texts
In emails to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Security Council, the
including before the Senate Intelligence Committee, that the information in the Signal chain about the Houthi strike is not classified, and
comment and feedback to national-security officials shortly after noon, and followed up in the evening after most failed to answer.Late
information transmitted in the group chat
However, as the CIA Director and National Security Advisor have both expressed today, that does not mean we encourage the release of the
This was intended to be a an [sic] internal and private deliberation amongst high-level senior staff and sensitive information was discussed
House considered sensitive, or how, more than a week after the initial air strikes, their publication could have bearing on national
chain, because CIA intelligence officers are traditionally not publicly identified
their name in the Signal conversation
We will continue to withhold the name of the officer
This Signal message shows that the U.S
This was 31 minutes before the first U.S
was expected to be killed by these American aircraft
Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds
Kurilla, the commander of Central Command; and the intelligence community, or IC
intelligence had ascertained the identities of the Houthi target, or targets, using either human or technical assets.Six minutes later, the
followed with a text containing a fist emoji, an American-flag emoji, and a fire emoji
The Houthi-run Yemeni health ministry reported that at least 53 people were killed in the strikes, a number that has not been independently
More strikes ongoing for hours tonight, and will provide full initial report tomorrow
