After The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg was "inadvertantly" invited to join a backchannel Signal chatroom used by Trump administration officials, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared forthcoming war plans with the group. Hegseth claimed that he had not in fact done this, which has led The Atlantic to publish a complete transcript of what was shared with the channel: "Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump's Advisers Shared on Signal" [archive]
"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)"
The White House press secretary today doubled down on her claim this is a "hoax" perpetrated by Goldberg, but no-one is fooled—not least because the officials (and herself, elsewhere) admit it. The claim instead is that none of it was classified information. The idea that the forthcoming operational plans of the U.S. military aren't classified pleases no-one, and the incompetence of everyone involved is now open knowledge.
Beyond the not-classified military plans, it also seems from the text that Trump is checked out of decision-making. It appears the country is being run by aides from these backchannel chatrooms.
