Quibbling about ‘war plans’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared some of the most specific information about the attack in the chat, has mostly faulted The Atlantic for the way it described the operational details he posted.

He came out swinging on Monday after The Atlantic published a story with a headline saying the administration texted Goldberg “war plans.” Hegseth told reporters during a visit to Hawaii that “nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that.”

Hegseth reiterated his response after The Atlantic published more messages from the exchange showing that Hegseth had shared the timetable for the attack and the weapons systems the Pentagon planned to use in the strike. The headline on that story used the phrase “attack plans.”

“This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an ‘attack plan,’” Hegseth posted Wednesday on X. “We will continue to do our job, while the media does what it does best: peddle hoaxes.”

But former and current officials familiar with the kind of information Hegseth shared told POLITICO that it was highly sensitive and could have compromised the safety of servicemembers had it fallen in the wrong hands. They also said details of the strike were likely classified at the time he posted them in the chat.

Hegseth has also reposted other Trump administration officials’ jabs at Goldberg.