Jeffrey Goldberg's release of excerpts from the Signal chat Wednesday morning was hailed in a victory lap by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, saying he proved his "hoax" by showing there were no "war plans" as he claimed.
"The Atlantic has conceded: These were NOT 'war plans,'" Leavitt posted on X, sharing the paywalled story revealing the excerpts.
"This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin."
The Atlantic's story showed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided times of warplane launches, strike packages, and targets.
Hegseth has adamantly rebutted the report, saying he did not reveal "war plans," and senior Cabinet officials have been uniform in saying the information leaked was not classified.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that it was up to Hegseth to determine whether the information he was posting was classified or not.
In the group chat, Hegseth posted:
"1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)"
"1345: 'Trigger Based' F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)"
"1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)"
"1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier 'Trigger Based' targets)"
":1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched."
"MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)"
"We are currently clean on OPSEC" — that is, operational security.
"Godspeed to our Warriors."
Goldberg has said he asked the White House if it opposed publication and the White House responded that it would prefer he did not publish.
This report was combined with The Associated Press.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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