(MENAFN) US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has admitted responsibility for accidentally adding a journalist to a Signal group chat where senior White House officials discussed planned military strikes in Yemen.

The leak was exposed by Atlantic magazine editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who published a story on Monday, revealing details of a Signal chat titled “Houthi PC small group.” The group reportedly included Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and other key officials.

During an interview on Fox News, Waltz called the situation “embarrassing” and pledged to investigate. “I take full responsibility. I built the group,” he told host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday. He speculated that Goldberg’s number was mistakenly added instead of someone else’s and said he had reached out to Elon Musk for help in determining how the mistake happened.

Trump downplayed the leak, calling it a “glitch” that had “no impact at all” on military operations. When asked about it at the White House, he dismissed The Atlantic, saying, “I’m not a big fan… It’s a magazine that’s going out of business.”

Despite criticism, Trump stood by Waltz, telling Fox News that he would not be fired, calling the incident a “mistake” that involved “nothing important.”

MENAFN08042025000045015687ID1109402339