Whistleblower Disclosure Uncovers Security Lapse in Trump’s White House
A significant security breach within the Trump administration was recently unveiled when it was discovered that Mike Waltz, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, unintentionally included a journalist in a group chat about US strikes in Yemen on the encrypted Signal platform. The journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic—a publication Trump has expressed disdain for—was mistakenly included due to a contact save error months earlier. Goldberger’s contact information was inadvertently preserved on Waltz’s phone after he was forwarded a critical email about Trump’s treatment of wounded service members.
The error was part of a series of missteps that emerged during an internal White House investigation, showing that security protocols were compromised from the start of the 2024 campaign and only came to light when Waltz attempted to add Goldberg to the Signal group chat. Although Trump initially considered firing Waltz over the incident, he ultimately decided against it, possibly to avoid giving Goldberg’s employer satisfaction for influencing the ouster of a top cabinet official.
The White House has since conducted a “forensic review” of the incident. They found that during a routine iPhone contact suggestion update, Waltz’s device automatically saved Goldberg’s number associated with a national security council spokesperson, Brian Hughes. The number went unnoticed until Waltz tried to add Hughes to the group chat discussion about military operations in Yemen, which mistakenly included Goldberg.
Waltz initially denied any prior communication with Goldberg in the immediate aftermath, claiming Goldberg’s number was inadvertently saved. This incident has raised significant concerns about the security measures used within the Trump administration, especially given the sensitive nature of the discussions taking place on inherently unsecured platforms like Signal. Despite the controversy, Trump has publicly defended Waltz, suggesting the White House had authorized Signal as the preferred communication tool for its cross-agency real-time discussions.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/06/signal-group-chat-leak-how-it-happened
