 "White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz speaks to members of the media from the briefing room at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, on February 20, 2025. Reuters File")
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz took “full responsibility” for the Signal chat leak about Yemen strikes and termed it “embarrassing.” He mistakenly added a journalist from The Atlantic to a group chat in which top American officials discussed impending strikes in Yemen.
In an interview with Fox News on 25 March, Waltz said, “It’s embarrassing, yes. We’re going to get to the bottom of it. We’ve, I just talked to Elon [Musk] on the way here. We’ve got the best technical minds looking at how this happened. But I can tell you, I can tell you 100 per cent, I don’t know this guy [The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg]. I know him by his horrible reputation, and he really is the bottom scum of journalists. And I know him in the sense that he hates the president, but I don’t text him. He wasn’t on my phone.”
Waltz said he created the chat where sensitive US attack details were shared but emphasised that the information was not classified.
Mike Waltz took full responsibility for creating the Signal chat, stating it was his role to ensure coordination among officials. “Look, I take full responsibility. I built the group. My job is to make sure everything’s coordinated,” he said in the interview.
‘Only glitch in two months’: Trump
US President Donald Trump defended his Waltz on Tuesday, calling the leak of military plans “the only glitch in two months.”
Speaking to NBC, Trump said, “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” as Democrats pushed for an investigation into how details of US airstrikes in Yemen were shared in a Signal group chat.
Democrats takes a dig at Trump admin, calls for investigation
Whereas, Democrat lawmakers are criticising the breach, calling for a congressional investigation into the mishandling of sensitive information.