Atlantic editor criticizes Waltz Signalgate defense as implausible
5 Min Read
The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg shoots down the various defenses made by US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz regarding his addition to a "top-secret" group chat.
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White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz listens to a question from a reporter in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Washington, on February 20, 2025 (AP)
The Atlantic magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg dismissed Sunday National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s explanation for how he was included in a Trump administration group text chat that saw top secret discussions about the US bombings of Yemen in what has become known as "Signalgate".
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Goldberg rejected Waltz’s claim that his contact information was "sucked in" to the group chat through another contact, calling the theory implausible.
"Phone numbers don’t just get sucked into other phones. I don’t know what he’s talking about there," Goldberg underlined. "Very frequently in journalism, the most obvious explanation is the explanation. My phone number was in his phone because my phone number is in his phone."
National security concerns
The controversy erupted after The Atlantic published details of the group chat, which included senior Trump administration officials discussing an imminent US strike on Ansar Allah in Yemen.
The chat, conducted on the encrypted messaging app Signal, raised alarms in Washington about the security protocols being followed by high-ranking officials. The revelations led to days of scrutiny over whether the messages constituted a national security breach.
Read next: How Signal leak saga overshadowed US attack on Yemeni civilian home
Donald Trump downplayed the concerns on Sunday, reiterating that the disclosures were a mistake but defending Waltz. Trump also denied reports that Waltz had offered to resign. "No, he didn’t," Trump said. "There was no reason for him to." He praised Waltz as "a very good man" who would "continue to do a good job."
The National Security Council (NSC) has confirmed the authenticity of the messages and is investigating how Goldberg was included in the chat.
Theories range from an accidental selection of his number to intentional sabotage. However, Goldberg dismissed the speculation, stating, "This has become a somewhat farcical situation. There’s no subterfuge here. My number was in his phone. He mistakenly added me to the group chat. There we go."
'Simply not true'
Goldberg also refuted Waltz’s assertion that they had never met or communicated. Waltz had told Trump and ambassadors at the White House that he "never met" Goldberg.
"There’s a lot of journalists … who have made big names for themselves making up lies about this president. This one in particular I’ve never met, don’t know, never communicated with, and we are looking into and reviewing how the heck he got into this room."
Waltz is "telling everyone that he’s never met me or spoken to me – that’s simply not true."
'An officer would be fired'
Democratic Senator Mark Warner criticized the security lapse, arguing that such carelessness could endanger American lives. "If you had been a traditional military officer or a CIA caseworker and you were this sloppy and careless with this classified information, you would be fired," Warner told ABC.
While Warner acknowledged that Signal is a safer platform for communication, he warned that it should not be used for classified information.
Congressman Mike Turner, a Republican and former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, agreed that an investigation into "Signalgate" was warranted.
Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice also weighed in, calling the leak "extraordinarily reckless" and "unprecedented". She emphasized that even the existence of such conversations is classified. "This would never be tolerated in a normal administration," Rice said. "They’d be fired on the spot."
Trump defends Signalgate
Despite calls—including from some of his allies—to dismiss Waltz over the incident, Trump dismissed the controversy as a “witch hunt”, asserting, “I don’t fire people because of fake news and because of witch hunts.”
Trump expressed continued confidence in Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was also in the chat and shared a detailed timeline of the planned strikes.
The US President also downplayed the significance of the Signal app itself, saying, “I have no idea what Signal is. I don’t care what Signal is.”
“All I can tell you is it’s just a witch hunt, and it’s the only thing the press wants to talk about, because you have nothing else to talk about. Because it’s been the greatest 100-day presidency in the history of our country.”
Similarly, the White House issued a statement saying, "This is a coordinated effort to distract from the successful actions taken by President Trump and his administration to make America's enemies pay and keep Americans safe."
