National Security Advisor Michael Waltz has accepted “full responsibility” for a significant security breach involving U.S. war plans that were accidentally leaked after journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a confidential group chat. Waltz, however, did not hold back his criticism of Goldberg, calling him a “loser” during a conversation on Fox News.
The controversy erupted when Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat involving top U.S. security officials. The chat, intended to discuss an upcoming attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen, included Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other high-profile figures. The officials were unaware that Goldberg was part of the conversation.
Goldberg stated that he received a connection request from someone who appeared to be White House National Security Advisor Michael Waltz before being added to the group. However, he clarified that he “did not assume the request was from the actual Michael Waltz.”
Speaking to Laura Ingraham on Fox News on Tuesday (March 25), Waltz admitted the error, saying:
“I take full responsibility. I built the group. It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it. We’ve got the best technical minds looking at how this happened.”
When pressed by Ingraham to identify the staffer responsible for the mishap, Waltz insisted that no specific individual was to blame. Instead, he reiterated his responsibility for forming the group.
He explained, “I take full responsibility. I built the group. My job is to make sure everything is coordinated. Have you ever had somebody’s contact show their name, but it’s actually someone else’s number? … Of course, I didn’t see this loser in the group. It looked like someone else. Whether he did it deliberately or it happened through some other technical means is something we’re trying to figure out.”
Waltz continued to criticize Goldberg, suggesting that the journalist might have played a role in the incident:
“I can tell you 100 percent I don’t know this guy. I know him by his horrible reputation, and he really is the bottom scum of journalists. I know him in the sense that he hates the president, but I don’t text him. He wasn’t on my phone. And we’re going to figure out how this happened.”
The Atlantic responded to the criticism from Waltz and others within the Trump administration, defending their reporting and calling out efforts to undermine their credibility.
“Attempts to disparage and discredit The Atlantic, our editor, and our reporting follow an obvious playbook by elected officials and others in power who are hostile to journalists and the First Amendment rights of all Americans,” the publication stated.
The incident has raised concerns over security protocols and the potential for leaks within hig
