It was the screw-up heard ‘round the world, and now – after weeks of speculation – three White House moles reveal just how Mike Waltz’s now-notorious group chat leak occurred.
Speaking to The Guardian Sunday, the sources gave a first-time glimpse into the White House’s probe into the slip-up – and several ‘missteps’ made by Waltz in the process.
The first, they said, occurred during the 2024 campaign. The last was the security advisor’s inclusion of Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg in the unsecured Signal chat.
In it, figures such as JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed the ongoing military strikes occurring in Yemen in real-time – all while Goldberg was present.
The White House went on to confirm the breach – as figures like Hegseth denied it. Such claims were quickly put to bed by Goldberg late last month, when the Atlantic released several of the messages in question.
They showed high-powered chat-members openly discussing forthcoming strikes on the Houthis in Yemen – strikes that ultimately came to fruition.
This caused many to question the Trump team’s security practices – a dynamic that seemingly gave way to several officials who’d worked under Waltz being abruptly fired Thursday.
Despite Waltz being spared, a ‘forensic review’ from the White House appeared to peg him as the one at fault – showing how he mistakenly saved Goldberg’s number after the latter contacted the Trump campaign last October.
How Mike Waltz’s now-notorious group chat leak actually occurred has been laid bare, thanks to three people familiar with matter
Sources gave a first-time glimpse into the WH probe, and several ‘missteps’ made by Waltz uncovered in the process. The first, they said, occurred during the 2024 campaign. The last was the security advisor’s inexplicable inclusion of the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg (seen here
Asking for comment on a story eventually published on October 22, Goldberg had been honing in on Trump’s previous comments to press about service members wounded in action, the three sources each said.
Goldberg’s message was then forwarded on to then-Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes, they explained – adding how Hughes had copied and pasted the content of the email into a text message.
With the signature block containing Goldberg’s phone number and information still attached, he sent the message to Waltz, the sources revealed.
Hughes had intended to connect the two so Waltz could be briefed on the forthcoming story, the insiders explained,
Instead, Waltz ended up saving Goldberg’s number in his iPhone under a contact card that was automatically – and erroneously – labeled as Hughes’. The former Trump campaign aid, today, is the spokesperson for the national security council Waltz oversees.
The sources said Goldberg’s info came up as Hughes’ purely because of a ‘contact suggestion’ – a feature seen on iPhones that uses an algorithms to pick up on content seen in messages sent by previously unknown numbers in a bid to identify them.
In this case, the algorithm picked up Hughes’ name from the message he had forwarded on – one Waltz saw the day of the leak and wrongly assumed was Hughes, a credentialed government official.
Instead, it was Goldberg, the sources pointed out – reiterating how the oversight went unnoticed even as the detailed war messages were being sent.
Waltz ended up saving Goldberg’s number in his iPhone under a contact card that was automatically labeled as then-Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes,’ thanks to a ‘contact’ suggestion that came up on Waltz’s iPhone. Seen here is a section of the compromised chat
He went on to add the contact he believed was Hughes (seen here with Trump after being hired to run his campaign. Today, Hughes is the spokesperson for the national security council that Waltz oversees
The insiders proceeded to point to comments from Waltz to the press during the incident’s immediate aftermath, where he appeared to express genuine confusion as to how Goldberg made it into his contacts.
In an interview with Fox News, the 51-year-old insisted the journalist’s number had somehow been ‘sucked’ into his cellular device – comments that begin to make more sense when hearing some the White House probe’s findings.
One of the Guardian’s sources said Trump was briefed on those findings last week, around the time he decided to keep Waltz on.
At least six others working underneath him, thought, were not so lucky – caught in a purge of officials within the Pentagon’s National Security Agency and the White House’s National Security Council, both of which are headed by Waltz.
Despite the debacle, Trump has publicly defended his security advisor in recent days, saying he has learned from ‘his mistake.’
Laura Loomer, meanwhile, incited speculation as to her part in the scandal Wednesday, after a summit with Trump in the White House where she reportedly brought a list of national security officials whom she believed could not be trusted .
Trump, however, suggested otherwise, after figures such Thomas Boodry, senior director of legislative affairs for Waltz’s National Security Council; and David Feith, senior director of technology and national security, found themselves fired.
Waltz mistakenly added The Atlantic editor-in-chief to the Signal chat as a result, spawning widespread outrage. He has not been fired
Despite the debacle, Trump has publicly defended his security advisor in recent days, saying he has learnt from ‘his mistake’
‘No,’ he said, when asked whether Loomer had been involved Thursday.
Instead, the president said that Loomer met with him to provide recommendations as people he could hire – hailing her as ‘a great patriot’.
The Trump team has also taken responsibility for the officials’ use of the unsecured group chat app, saying it ordered them to due so temporarily as they transition to a new platform.
