CV NEWS FEED // The Atlantic published leaked Signal messages from Trump officials about US military operations in Yemen, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe insisting the texts prove no classified information was shared.
“Those messages were revealed today and revealed that I did not transmit classified information,” Ratcliffe testified before the House Intelligence Committee Wednesday, referring to the excerpts published in an Atlantic article.
As CatholicVote reported Tuesday, the leaked group chat drew intense media attention after Atlantic Editor Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he was accidentally added to the thread, alleging it contained highly sensitive war plans.
Goldberg escalated the claim during an MSNBC appearance Tuesday, claiming the messages listed “human targets meant to be killed in the attack.” However, national security analyst David Reaboi pointed out that the Atlantic’s own article, published the next day, included no such evidence.
“So this from yesterday turned out to be a complete lie. Not even close to being true. Just a lie,” Reaboi wrote on X.
So this from yesterday turned out to be a complete lie. Not even close to being true. Just a lie. pic.twitter.com/wVMha2RKDD
— David Reaboi, Late Republic Nonsense (@davereaboi) March 26, 2025
The article, titled “Here Are the Attack Plans that Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal,” includes screenshots from the chat showing the timing updates and confirmations of the US strikes.
“If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests… the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds,” wrote authors Goldberg and Shane Harris. “The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic.”
Still, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz maintained that the information was not classified and posed no threat to security.
No locations.
— Mike Waltz (@MikeWaltz47) March 26, 2025
No sources & methods.
NO WAR PLANS.
Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent.
BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests.
“No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS,” Waltz wrote on X. “Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent.”
The article also accused Ratcliffe of revealing the identity of an undercover CIA operative—an allegation Ratcliffe swiftly rejected.
“That reporter also indicated that I had released the name of an undercover CIA operative in that Signal chat,” Ratcliffe said. “In fact, I had released the name of my chief of staff, who was not operating undercover. That was deliberately false and misleading.”
He added, “At the end of the day, what is most important is that the mission was a remarkable success.”
Meanwhile, other top Trump officials backed Ratcliffe’s defense.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard affirmed that the chat contained no classified material, echoing her Tuesday statements.
Vice President JD Vance agreed, saying, “It’s very clear Goldberg oversold what he had.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was even more direct, declaring, “The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT ‘war plans.’ This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin.”
The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT “war plans.”
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 26, 2025
This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin. pic.twitter.com/atGrDd2ymr
Speaking to Fox News, Leavitt said the “real story” isn’t the Signal leak–it’s the Trump administration’s success in taking out terrorist threats.
She accused Democrats of turning a routine update into what she called a manufactured crisis: “No classified information was shared… but the Democrats would have you believe we have a national security crisis on our hands, when we absolutely do not.”
Leavitt closed by praising the Trump national security team, saying Americans should be “grateful to these individuals, and especially to President Trump, for putting together such a competent and highly qualified team who are killing terrorists that the Biden administration allowed to run wild in the Middle East.”