U.S. Senate Democrats Urge Justice Department Probe Into War Plans Discussion on Signal
Washington, March 25 – Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and top Senate Democrats on Wednesday called for a Justice Department investigation into how a journalist was inadvertently included in a secret group discussion of sensitive U.S. war plans.
In a letter to Republican President Donald Trump and his top officials, the senators raised concerns over the breach, which involved a Signal chat where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly shared operational details about pending strikes against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis. The details reportedly included target locations, weapons to be deployed, and attack sequencing, according to Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who was mistakenly added to the group.
“We write to you with extreme alarm about the astonishingly poor judgment shown by your Cabinet and national security advisors,” the letter stated. The senators urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation, noting that willful or negligent disclosure of sensitive national security information could constitute a criminal violation under the Espionage Act or other laws.
Trump, when asked about the incident at a White House event on Tuesday with his national security adviser Michael Waltz, said his administration would review the use of Signal but expressed support for his team. He said he did not believe Waltz should apologize but added that the administration would likely discontinue use of the messaging app.
Waltz, speaking later on Fox News’ ‘The Ingraham Angle,’ took responsibility for the breach, saying he had created the Signal group but emphasized that no classified information had been shared. He called the situation “embarrassing” and pledged to determine how Goldberg’s number was mistakenly added, noting that the journalist’s contact was not saved in his phone.
The incident has raised fresh concerns over the handling of sensitive national security communications within the Trump administration.
