PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 25th, 2025: LEAKED! Trump Officials Text Houthi War Plans To Journalist & Russia, Ukraine Agree To US Brokered Black Sea Ceasefire
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What explosive report is the Trump administration facing?
It's Tuesday, the 25th of March. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, the Trump administration is in hot water over an explosive report from the Atlantic, which revealed the publication's editor-in-chief was accidentally added to an encrypted group chat on the private messaging app Signal, where more than a dozen top Trump officials discussed sensitive military plans. Later in the show, after meetings with officials from the Trump administration in Saudi Arabia, Russia and Ukraine have tentatively agreed to a limited maritime ceasefire to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
President Trump is downplaying the alleged leak of sensitive military plans by senior administration officials on an encrypted group chat that included a journalist. The conversations took place during the run-up to the Pentagon strikes against Yemen's Houthi militants, but Trump said the disclosures are being blown out of proportion and didn't put any military operations at risk.
What were the details of the leaked military plans?
Now, to bring you up to speed, the Trump administration suffered a major embarrassment on Monday when Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that he was inadvertently added to a group chat on the private messaging app Signal that included more than a dozen top Trump officials. He was allegedly accidentally added by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Well, that doesn't sound like a National Security Advisor thing to do. Just hours before the administration began their bombing campaign on the 15th of March against the Houthi militants of Yemen. Did you get added? I'm just curious. I mean, I didn't get added to the chat group. And frankly, I'm feeling a little left out here. According to the report from Goldberg, the group included Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Waltz, and others, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe. In the messages published by The Atlantic, Hegseth, Vice President Vance, and other officials debated their plans to launch airstrikes against the terror group.
In messages Goldberg withheld from publication, he alleges that Hegseth also disclosed, quote, operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing, end quote. Well, as you might imagine, the report sent shockwaves throughout the Capitol, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, along with Pentagon officials, expressing concerns about the judgment of those involved. Oh, look, they've come to a bipartisan agreement on something. It was not immediately clear if the specifics discussed by Hegseth were officially classified, though experts note that such plans often are and are at least kept secret to protect personnel and operational security, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Others called it an extraordinary breach of American national security and questioned whether the actions violated the Espionage Act governing the handling of classified information as the conversations took place on a commercial app outside the secure government channels that would traditionally be used for war planning. Former national security officials told the New York Times that the use of a commercial app was particularly irresponsible given ongoing Chinese hacking efforts. It's worth noting that government officials often use Signal for organizational discussions, though we should also stress that the app is vulnerable to hacks. The White House and National Security Council subsequently confirmed the authenticity of the chat, though disputed the Atlantic's account of what was discussed.
Secretary Henseth lashed out at Goldberg on Monday, calling him a, quote, "...deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist," alluding to his reporting on the Russia collusion investigation as well as a highly disputed report that alleged Trump once criticized veterans.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What explosive report is the Trump administration facing?
0:12–1:21
2
What were the details of the leaked military plans?
1:21–4:48
3
How did President Trump respond to the leak?
4:48–5:55
4
What are the implications of using commercial apps for sensitive discussions?
5:55–9:36
5
What actions are lawmakers taking in response to the breach?
9:36–12:35
6
What security measures should officials follow when discussing classified information?
12:35–15:23
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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