When Jeffrey Goldberg published a bombshell story outlining how some of the most senior US officials had mistakenly shared sensitive information with him, he obtained the biggest scoop of the year. The Atlantic editor also became the prime target for every senior Trump administration official in Washington.
In the last couple of days, he’s been called a “loser” and a “sleazebag” by President Trump, as well as a liar and “scum” by US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, who appeared to have mistakenly added Goldberg to a group chat earlier this month.
Before he became a political lightning rod, however, Goldberg watched on his phone as cabinet officials – including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard – discussed the sensitive details, timings, and targets of an upcoming military operation in Yemen. They did not seem to notice his presence.
As the fall-out of the episode has engulfed Washington, Waltz has taken responsibility for mistakenly adding Goldberg to the group chat, suggesting that he meant to invite somebody else.
He has insisted that he has never met the editor, saying: “I wouldn’t know him if I bumped into him, if I saw him in a police lineup”.
One thing is clear: you must already have someone’s contact information to reach them on Signal, and so Waltz had Goldberg’s phone number. The top security adviser has said he has asked Elon Musk, tech billionaire and the White House’s government efficiency czar, to investigate how the mistake happened – a move that was ridiculed by Goldberg.
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