The Trump administration is facing calls for an investigation after a reporter was accidentally included in a group chat where senior US officials discussed conducting airstrikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.
Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, was added to a group which included US vice president JD Vance, defence secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
He said he had received a connection request on the encrypted messaging service Signal by Mr Waltz on 11 March and was invited to join the “Houthi PC small group” two days later.
Responding to the report, Mr Trump said “I know nothing about it” and called The Atlantic “not much of a magazine”. He added: “I don’t know anything about it. You’re telling me about it for the first time.”
Speaking to reporters in Hawaii, Mr Hegseth said “nobody was texting war plans and that’s all I have to say about that”. He also claimed Mr Goldberg was “peddling garbage”.
Image: Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth in the White House last week. Pic: Reuters
Image: Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, in 2022. Pic: Reuters
Senior Democrats have been highly critical of the incident. Congressman Jamie Raskin told Sky’s Martha Kelner: “This is such a basic error to be talking about war plans and military strategy in such a sloppy and open and public way.
“Almost certainly there were crimes committed in the process.”
When asked about the use of emojis in the group chat, Mr Raskin said: “It doesn’t surprise me coming from this crowd.”
Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for a full investigation, saying: “This is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time.”
On 15 March, US airstrikes killed at least 53 people in Yemen in retaliation for Houthi threats to begin targeting “Israeli” ships after Israel blocked aid entering the Gaza Strip. The daily bombardment has continued for the 10 days since then.
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From 16 March: US launches multiple strikes on Yemen’s Houthis
When Mr Goldberg initially received a connection request from Mr Waltz, he was sceptical and initially thought “someone could be masquerading as Waltz in order to somehow entrap me”.
Leak raises huge questions about national security
By David Blevins, Sky correspondent in Washington DC
“FUBAR” – that’s one congressman’s response to the jaw-dropping news that Trump officials discussed war plans in a group chat on the Signal app.
It’s an old military acronym meaning ‘F***ed up beyond recognition” or “…beyond repair”.
“Only one word for this: FUBAR,” said Democrat representative Pat Ryan, an army veteran who sits on the armed services committee.
The leak raises huge questions about national security, but legal experts suggest establishing the group on Signal may violate the espionage act.
A spokesperson for the US National Security Council said: “At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.
“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 our service members or our national security.”
Image: A US ship fires missiles during the strikes. Pic: US Central Command/Reuters
Group included ‘active intelligence officer’
After he was added to the “Houthi PC small group” on 13 March, Mr Goldberg saw a message from Mr Waltz asking the other members to provide a point of contact “for us to coordinate with over the next couple of days and over the weekend”.
In total, 18 people were part of the group, Mr Goldberg said, including Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s Middle East and Ukraine negotiator, and an “active intelligence officer” whose name he did not publish.
Image: Smoke rises in Yemen’s capital Houthi after US airstrikes. Pic: AP
The next day Mr Waltz texted the group: “Team, you should have a statement of conclusions with taskings per the Presidents [sic] guidance this morning in your high side inboxes,” with “high side” referring to classified computer systems.
“State and DOD [Department of Defence], we developed suggested notification lists for regional Allies and partners. Joint Staff is sending this am [morning] a more specific sequence of events in the coming days and we will work w DOD to ensure COS [chief of staff], OVP [office of the vice president] and POTUS [president of the United States] are briefed.”
Image: Smoke rises from an explosion after a group of buildings were hit during the strikes. Pic: US Central Command/Reuters
‘I think we are making a mistake’, vice president says
Mr Vance, who was at an economic event in Michigan, messaged: “I think we are making a mistake.
“[Three] percent of US trade runs through the [Suez Canal]. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message.”
He added: “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”
Image: The aftermath of US airstrikes in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. Pic: Reuters
European ‘free-loading’ is ‘PATHETIC’, senior officials say
Later in the conversation, Mr Waltz criticised the limited capabilities of European navies, writing: “Whether it’s now or several weeks from now, it will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes. Per the president’s request we are working with DOD and State to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans.”
Mr Vance addressed Mr Hegseth in a message reading: “If you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.”
Image: Pics: The Atlantic
Mr Hegseth replied: “VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC. But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this. Nobody else even close. Question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes. I think we should go; but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space.”
An account believed to be the deputy White House chief of staff, Stephen Miller, then said: “As I heard it, the president was clear: green light, but we soon make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return. We also need to figure out how to enforce such a requirement. EG, if Europe doesn’t remunerate, then what? If the US successfully restores freedom of navigation at great cost there needs to be some further economic gain extracted in return.”
Messages could ‘harm American military and intelligence personnel’
The next day, the day of the strikes, Mr Goldberg said he saw messages which “if they had been read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel”.
“I will say a prayer for victory,” Mr Vance said.
Mr Goldberg said after the strikes many of those in the group celebrated with messages including “good job” and “God bless”.
When he realised the messages were real, Mr Goldberg removed himself from the Signal group and emailed several officials in the group for comment.
A spokesperson for Mr Vance replied: “The Vice President’s first priority is always making sure that the President’s advisers are adequately briefing him on the substance of their internal deliberations.
“Vice President Vance unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy. The President and the Vice President have had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement.”
It comes after Mr Hegseth’s office announced a crackdown on leaking sensitive information.
Donald Trump has described crucial trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping as “amazing” – and says he will visit Beijing in April.
The leaders of the world’s two biggest economies met in South Korea as they tried to defuse growing tensions – with both countries imposing aggressive tariffs on exports since the president’s second term began.
Aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump confirmed tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the US will be reduced, which could prove much-needed relief to consumers.
It was also agreed that Beijing will work “hard” to stop fentanyl flowing into the US.
Semiconductor chips were another issue raised during their 100-minute meeting, but the president admitted certain issues weren’t discussed.
“On a scale of one to 10, the meeting with Xi was 12,” he told reporters en route back to the US.
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‘Their handshake was almost a bit awkward’
Xi a ‘tough negotiator’, says Trump
The talks conclude a whirlwind visit across Asia – with Mr Trump saying he was “too busy” to see Kim Jong Un.
However, the president said he would be willing to fly back to see the North Korean leader, with a view to discussing denuclearisation.
Mr Trump had predicted negotiations with his Chinese counterpart would last for three or four hours – but their meeting ended in less than two.
The pair shook hands before the summit, with the US president quipping: “He’s a tough negotiator – and that’s not good!”
It marks the first face-to-face meeting between both men since 2019 – back in Mr Trump’s first term.
Image: Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. Pic: AP
There were signs that Beijing had extended an olive branch to Washington ahead of the talks, with confirmation China will start buying US soybeans again.
American farmers have been feeling the pinch since China stopped making purchases earlier this year – not least because the country was their biggest overseas market.
Chinese stocks reached a 10-year high early on Thursday as investors digested their meeting, with the yuan rallying to a one-year high against the US dollar.
Analysis: A fascinating power play
Sky News Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith – who is in Busan where the talks took place – said it was fascinating to see the power play between both world leaders.
She said: “Trump moved quickly to dominate the space – leaning in, doing all the talking, even responding very briefly to a few thrown questions.
“That didn’t draw so much as an eyebrow raise from his counterpart, who was totally inscrutable. Xi does not like or respond well to unscripted moments, Trump lives for them.”
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Will Trump really run for a third term?
On Truth Social, Mr Trump had described the summit as a gathering of the “G2” – a nod to America and China’s status as the world’s two biggest economies.
While en route to see President Xi, he also revealed that the US “Department of War” has now been ordered to start testing nuclear weapons for the first time since 1992.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the Sudanese city of Al Fashir by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a two-day window after the paramilitary group captured the regional capital, analysts believe.
Sky News is not able to independently verify the claim by Yale Humanitarian Labs, as the city remains under a telecommunications blackout.
Stains and shapes resembling blood and corpses can be seen from space in satellite images analysed by the research lab.
Image: Al Fashir University. Pic: Airbus DS/2025
Image: Al Fashir University. Pic: Airbus DS/2025
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of Yale Humanitarian Labs, said: “In the past 48 hours since we’ve had [satellite] imagery over Al Fashir, we see a proliferation of objects that weren’t there before RSF took control of Al Fashir – they are approximately 1.3m to 2m long which is critical because in satellite imagery at very high resolution, that’s the average length of a human body lying vertical.”
Mini Minawi, the governor of North Darfur, said on X that 460 civilians have been killed in the last functioning hospital in the city.
The Sudan Doctors Network has also shared that the RSF “cold-bloodedly killed everyone they found inside Al Saudi Hospital, including patients, their companions, and anyone else present in the wards”.
World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was “appalled and deeply shocked” by the reports.
Satellite images support the claims of a massacre at Al Saudi Hospital, according to Mr Raymond, who said YHL’s report detailed “a large pile of them [objects believed to be bodies] against a wall at one building at Saudi hospital. And we believe that’s consistent with reports that patients and staff were executed en masse”.
In a video message released on Wednesday, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo acknowledged “violations in Al Fashir” and claimed “an investigation committee should start to hold any soldier or officer accountable”.
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Army soldiers ‘fled key Sudan city’ before capture
Image: The Saudi Maternity Hospital in Al Fashir. Pic: Airbus DS /2025 via AP
The commander is known for committing atrocities in Darfur in the early 2000s as a Janjaweed militia leader, and the RSF has been accused of carrying out genocide in Darfur 20 years on.
Sources have told Sky News the RSF is holding doctors, journalists and politicians captive, demanding ransoms from some families to release their loved ones.
One video shows a man from Al Fashir with an armed man kneeling on the ground, telling his family to pay 15,000. The currency was not made clear.
In some cases, ransoms have been paid, but then more messages come demanding that more money be transferred to secure release.
Muammer Ibrahim, a journalist based in the city, is currently being held by the RSF, who initially shared videos of him crouched on the ground, surrounded by fighters, announcing his hometown had been captured under duress.
He is being held incommunicado as his family scrambles to negotiate his release. Muammer courageously covered the siege of Al Fashir for months, enduring starvation and shelling.
The Committee to Protect Journalists regional director Sara Qudah said the abduction of Muammar Ibrahim “is a grave and alarming reminder that journalists in Al Fashir are being targeted simply for telling the truth”.