Donald Trump dismissed the contents of the messages contained in a Signal chat where his top intelligence, national security and defense officials were discussing attack plans on Yemen.

The president insisted nothing was ‘compromised’ in the group chat, which The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg became privy to before the attack was carried out this month.

Goldberg published on Wednesday morning screen grabs of the entire conversation he was inadvertently added to in the encrypted communications app.

It showed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sharing a detailed and precise timeline and the weapons systems that would be used to carry out a targeted attack on a ‘terrorist threat’ in Yemen on March 15.

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz was the one who added Goldberg to the chat, but it was later revealed that it was one of his staffers who mistakenly put the journalist into the Signal group.

Trump provided a near-real time reaction on Wednesday morning when he joined by-phone conservative podcast host Vince Coglianese to discuss the update.

‘It is bizarre,’ Trump said of the fact that Goldberg was the one added to the chat. ‘And he’s a sleazebag at the highest level… It’s too bad we give him a little boost like this.’

‘But somebody in my group – he just screwed up or it’s a bad Signal,’ Trump continued. ‘Seems to be maybe came in with a staffer and it was by accident, from what we can tell.’ 

President Donald Trump said a staffer ‘screwed up’ by adding a journalist to a group chat on Signal where officials were discussing attack plans on Yemen

It appears that a staffer for National Security Advisor Mike Waltz was the one who mistakingly added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeff Goldberg to a the ‘Houthi PC small group’ chat in Signal 

Asked about the screen grabs of the ‘Houthi PC small group’ chat, Trump downplayed the contents of what was revealed.

‘There weren’t details, and there was nothing in there that compromised – and it had no impact on the attack, which was very successful. It was a very, very successful attack and it was an attack that Biden should have done three years ago,’ Trump said.

He suggested that an ‘innocent staffer’ was responsible for Goldberg getting access to the chat, but insisted it’s ‘not a big deal.’

‘A thing like that, maybe Goldberg found a way – maybe there’s a staffer, maybe there’s a very innocent staffer, but I think we’ll get to the bottom of it very quickly and it’s really not a big deal,’ he told Coglianese.

Hegseth joined a chorus of other officials who were on the chat denying this week that any classified information was shared.

Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe told the Senate Intelligence Committee just hours before the latest update that no secret material was shared on the Signal chat.

They reiterated those claims at their hearing in the House on Wednesday, with Gabbard saying it was ‘sensitive’ but not ‘classified.’

Hegseth, a former Fox News host, on March 15 texted other senior cabinet officials about precise timings and weapons systems used in strikes on Yemen between 31 minutes and two hours before they were carried out.

He inadvertently leaked in the chat precision details including when F-18s would launch a ‘first strike package’, the type of MQ-9 drones that would be deployed and the exact moment ‘the first bombs will definitely drop.’

The bombshell new messages Goldberg shared in his follow-up article include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (pictured) detailing the weapons systems and timings of the strikes before they were carried out earlier this month

One bombshell message shows Hegseth detailing a timeline and weapons systems to be used in an attack on 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched and two hours before the window to take out a Houthi ‘terrorist target’ on March 15

Hegseth ensured they were ‘clean on OPSEC’ – or operational security – and said more on the timeline would follow

Just moments after Hegseth sent the message with a full upcoming timeline, Waltz changed the setting of the Signal chat so the messages would automatically disappear after four weeks. 

‘Godspeed to our Warriors,’ Hegseth wrote in one message in the chat that mistakenly included Goldberg. 

Trump’s team is already trying to spin and discredit the new report, claiming it’s a ‘hoax,’ and that the update proves that they sensationalized the initial publication of the Signal chat by calling it ‘war plans’ and are now trying to rebrand as ‘attack plans.’ 

‘The Atlantic has already abandoned their bulls*** ‘war plans’ narrative, and in releasing the full chat , they concede they LIED to perpetuate yet ANOTHER hoax on the American people,’ White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich wrote.

He added: ‘What scumbags!’

And Trump’s Press Secretary wrote: ‘The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT ‘war plans.’

‘This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin,’ Karoline Leavitt added.

NSA Waltz added Goldberg to the group chat and was appeared to kick-off a discussion on carrying out a Houthi attack. Marco Rubio – labeled MAR in the chat – was added after Goldberg

Hegseth even stunned his former Fox News colleague Brit Hume when he brought into question the authenticity of the group chat messages shared by Goldberg.

The Pentagon chief even suggested that the leader of the Atlantic newsroom was completely fabricating the story in continuing to push the ‘fake news’ narrative.

‘You’re talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again,’ Hegseth told a reporter as he traveled in Hawaii this week.

Hume posted to social media a video of Hegseth’s remarks and noted: ‘Oh for God’s sake, the administration has already confirmed the authenticity of the message.’

The veteran Fox News political analyst was referring to a statement from National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes, who in the article commented on the record.

‘This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,’ Hughes wrote.

He added: ‘The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to troops or national security.’

Hegseth claimed that Goldberg has played role in pushing ‘hoaxes’ surrounding Trump being compromised by the Russians, the president’s comments in Charlottesville, and the story that the president called fallen American solders ‘suckers and losers.’

‘This is a guy who peddles in garbage. This is what he does,’ Hegseth said.

Goldberg claims in his follow-up report: ‘If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests—or someone merely indiscreet, and with access to social media—the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds.’

‘The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic.’

Waltz set messages to disappear after four weeks in the Signal chat after Hegseth provided a detailed timeline of the Yemen attack. Shortly after, he updated the team that a building collapsed with the target inside

DNI Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were among those in the Signal group chat – they appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday for an aptly-timed hearing on worldwide threats

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, who were both in the already-infamous Signal chat, were part of a Senate hearing on worldwide threats on Tuesday.

The timing of the public questioning was right after the initial Atlantic report revealing the use of a communications app to discuss specific plans to bomb Yemen.

Gabbard and Ratcliffe – alongside FBI Director Kash Patel – were asked about the chat during the hearing and repeatedly denied that any classified information was discussed.

‘There was no classified material that was shared in that Signal group,’ Gabbard told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The chat was initiated by National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and inadvertently included Goldberg, who published a story on the chat only after the attack was carried out in Yemen.

Waltz, during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday, vehemently denied that any classified discussions took place in the chat. Trump said he had continued faith in his NSA.