Trump says he ‘always thought’ Waltz was responsible for national security chat scandal

While speaking to reporters, Trump dismissed the significance of the scandal and instead touted the “unbelievably successful” attack, saying that the media should be focusing on the outcome rather than the chat group.

The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg sent the Trump White House reeling after he broke the bombshell story on Monday. Goldberg was inadvertently included in a Signal chat group with senior Trump administration officials who were discussing a planned attack on the Houthis in Yemen.

Goldberg said he “had very strong doubts” about the chat’s authenticity. However, once he verified that the actions discussed in the group were occurring, he knew it was real.

The Atlantic editor-in-chief said he had “never seen a breach quite like this.” While Goldberg acknowledged that it’s not uncommon for U.S. officials to use Signal, he said it was primarily used as a logistics tool and not a place to discuss “imminent war plans.”

The Trump administration has worked to downplay the report for days, and even claimed victory when The Atlantic published a follow-up describing what was discussed as “attack plans,” rather than “war plans.”

“This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a post on X.

Leavitt confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that Elon Musk was helping lead an investigation of the Signal chat leak. However, it is unclear what will happen to those found responsible, as Trump has already said that he would not fire Waltz over the scandal.