‘This is when the bombs will drop’: What was said in Trump officials’ group chat
A group chat of top US officials – which a journalist was accidentally added to – discussed plans to conduct airstrikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and fiery critique of “pathetic” Europe.
Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to the “Houthi PC small group” on Signal on Thursday 13 March.
He wrote about what was said in the days that followed in his article The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans.
The White House sought to downplay the incident – leading to a second article from The Atlantic going into more detail about discussion it said “veered toward the operational”.
Here’s what we know was said on encrypted messaging service Signal – in a group that included US vice president JD Vance, defence secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
Thursday 13 March
This day was seemingly aimed at establishing who would make up the small group.
A message to the group, from Michael Waltz read: “Team – establishing a principles [sic] group for coordination on Houthis, particularly for over the next 72 hours. My deputy Alex Wong is pulling together a tiger team at deputies/agency Chief of Staff level following up from the meeting in the Sit Room this morning for action items and will be sending that out later this evening.”
The message continued: “Pls provide the best staff POC from your team for us to coordinate with over the next couple days and over the weekend. Thx.”
One minute later, the secretary of state Marco Antonio Rubio wrote: “Mike Needham for State,” apparently designating the current counsellor of the state department as his representative.
JD Vance wrote: “Andy baker for VP.” One minute after that, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, wrote: “Joe Kent for DNI.”
Nine minutes later, treasury secretary Scott Bessent wrote: “Dan Katz for Treasury.”
At 4.53pm Pete Hegseth wrote: “Dan Caldwell for DoD.”
And at 6.34pm, a user called “Brian” wrote “Brian McCormack for NSC.” Someone called “John Ratcliffe” then wrote with the name of a CIA official to be included in the group.
Friday 14 March
At 8.05am, 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.”
Mr Goldberg says at this point, a “fascinating” policy discussion commenced, during which JD Vance wrote: “Team, I am out for the day doing an economic event in Michigan. But I think we are making a mistake.
“3 percent of US trade runs through the suez. 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.
“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.”
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At 8.27am, a message arrived from the Pete Hegseth reading: “VP: I understand your concerns – and fully support you raising w/ POTUS. Important considerations, most of which are tough to know how they play out (economy, Ukraine peace, Gaza, etc). I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded.
“Waiting a few weeks or a month does not fundamentally change the calculus. 2 immediate risks on waiting: 1) this leaks, and we look indecisive; 2) Israel takes an action first – or Gaza cease fire falls apart – and we don’t get to start this on our own terms. We can manage both.
“We are prepared to execute, and if I had final go or no go vote, I believe we should. This [is] not about the Houthis. I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablish deterrence, which Biden cratered. But, we can easily pause. And if we do, I will do all we can to enforce 100% OPSEC – operations security.
“I welcome other thoughts.”
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.”
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.”
This was followed by the last text of the day, from Mr Hegseth, who wrote at 9.46am: “Agree.”
Saturday 15 March
At 11.44am, Mr Hegseth posted in Signal a “TEAM UPDATE”.
The Atlantic initially opted not to share what the update said, with Mr Goldberg writing in his article: “The information contained in them, if they had been read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel, particularly in the broader Middle East, Central Command’s area of responsibility.”
But in a follow-up article published on Wednesday, The Atlantic shared more of the conversation from Saturday, including the team update.
It came after the White House had sought to downplay the leak of information about plans to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen – saying no classified information had been disclosed.
The text under Mr Hegseth’s “TEAM UPDATE” message read: “TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM [Centcom – or Central Command – is the military’s combatant command for the Middle East] we are a GO for mission launch.”
The text continued: “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)”.
Further texts by the Pentagon chief followed, the magazine reported: “1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)”.
“1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets).”
He also wrote: “1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.” And then: “MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)”.
“We are currently clean on OPSEC” (operational security), he added.
“Godspeed to our Warriors.”
Mr Goldberg said the only person to respond to Mr Hegseth was Mr Vance, who wrote: “I will say a prayer for victory”, along with two prayer emojis.
He said it was at this point that he sat in his car in a supermarket car park, waiting to see if Houthi targets would be bombed.
Pic: The Atlantic
At 1.48pm, Mr Waltz provided an update, which Mr Goldberg initially did not quote in full.
But in the second article, The Atlantic shared the message, which contained real-time intelligence about conditions at an attack site, apparently in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital city.
It read: “VP. Building collapsed. Had multiple positive ID. Pete, Kurilla, the IC, amazing job.”
The Atlantic reported that Mr Waltz was referring to Mr Hegseth, General Michael E. Kurilla, the commander of Central Command and the intelligence community, or IC.
It said the reference to “multiple positive ID” suggested that US intelligence had confirmed the identities of the Houthi target, or targets.
At 1.54pm, Mr Vance responded to Mr Waltz’s message saying “What?” – apparently confused by its contents.
Mr Goldberg said it was at around 1.55pm that he went on X and searched Yemen, and saw reports of explosions being heard across Sanaa.
At 2pm, Mr Waltz responded on the group saying: “Typing too fast. The first target – their top missile guy – we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend’s building and it’s now collapsed.”
A minute later, Mr Vance wrote back: “Excellent”.
35 minutes after, John Ratcliffe wrote: “A good start.”
Mr Goldberg said Mr Waltz responded with three emojis: a fist, an American flag and fire.
Later that afternoon, Mr Hegseth posted: “CENTCOM was/is on point. Great job all. More strikes ongoing for hours tonight, and will provide full initial report tomorrow. But on time, on target, and good readouts so far.”
Others soon joined in, including Mr Rubio, who wrote, “Good Job Pete and your team!!,” and Susie Wiles, who texted: “Kudos to all – most particularly those in theater and CENTCOM! Really great. God bless.”
Mr Witkoff responded with five emojis: two hands-praying, a flexed bicep, and two American flags.
Tulsi Gabbard responded: “Great work and effects!”
Mr Goldberg said the after-action discussion included assessments of damage done, including the likely death of a specific individual – he did not say who.
The US federal government’s longest-ever shutdown has come to an end after Donald Trump signed off a congressional vote with his presidential approval.
But the president was in no mood to field questions from the media after hailing the long-awaited funding bill, which he signed just hours after thousands of files related to Jeffrey Epstein – in which he was referenced – were released.
As it happened: Trump ends shutdown after Epstein files released
Mr Trump has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to the deceased billionaire paedophile, and said in a Truth Social post after their release that the “Jeffrey Epstein hoax” is a “trap” set by Democrats.
His appearance in the Oval Office came after the House of Representatives voted to reopen the government, after the Senate – the upper chamber of Congress – reached a deal on Monday.
The breakthrough came when a handful of Democrat senators rebuffed their party’s leadership – who’d spent weeks pushing for guarantees on healthcare subsidies – and teamed up with Republicans.
The deal then went to the president, who signed it into law.
“It’s a great day,” he declared, as he blamed Democrats for the 43-day shutdown that left federal workers without pay, food aid undelivered, air travel disrupted, and museums closed.
But the big media moment from behind the historic White House Resolute desk was short and sweet – with Mr Trump, unusually, taking no questions from journalists.
The bill will see the federal government funded until 30 January. Pic: AP
What’s in the latest Epstein files?
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee initially published several emails which they said “raises questions about Trump and Epstein’s relationship, Trump’s knowledge of Epstein’s crimes” and the president’s relationship to Epstein’s victims.
White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the “selectively leaked emails” were an attempt to “create a fake narrative to smear President Trump”. He has consistently denied any involvement or knowledge about Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
It prompted Republicans to retaliate by releasing more than 20,000 pages from Epstein’s files and accusing Democrats of “cherry-picking” their documents.
Read more: What Epstein emails say about Trump
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The Epstein files: The main things you need to know
Epstein took his own life in prison in 2019 following a conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, for which he was registered as a sex offender. He was awaiting a trial for sex trafficking charges.
In his Truth Social post, Mr Trump said the release of the latest files were a “deflection” from the shutdown.
The shutdown, which started on 1 October, has disrupted the lives of millions of Americans as all non-essential parts of government have been frozen.
It was the first shutdown in almost seven years.
As he put pen to paper, the president accused the Democrats of an “extortion” attempt over their push for healthcare subsidies – provided under the Affordable Care Act brought in by Barack Obama – to be extended.
“Republicans never wanted a shutdown,” he said.
“It’s cost the country $1.5trn,” he added.
Thousands of documents from disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein have been released, which reference Donald Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson among others.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee initially published several emails which they said “raises questions about Trump and Epstein’s relationship, Trump’s knowledge of Epstein’s crimes” and the president’s relationship to Epstein’s victims.
White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the “selectively leaked emails” were an attempt to “create a fake narrative to smear President Trump”. He has consistently denied any involvement or knowledge about Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
Trump latest: 20,000 pages published in response to ‘leak’
Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein in 1992. Pic: NBC
It prompted Republicans to retaliate by releasing more than 20,000 pages from Epstein’s files and accusing Democrats of “cherry-picking” their documents.
Here’s what the emails say…
:: Epstein discusses Trump
Three messages, dated between 2011 and 2019, are between Jeffrey Epstein and his sex trafficking co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell and between Epstein and author Michael Wolff.
In the first exchange of emails, between Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, dated 2 April 2011, Epstein wrote:
i want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump.. Virginia spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. police chief. etc. im 75% there
Maxwell responded:
I have been thinking about that…
The name Virginia, refers to Virginia Giuffre, a prominent Epstein survivor who died in April and had never accused Mr Trump of wrongdoing.
Ms Giuffre made allegations of three sexual encounters with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his prince title, in her autobiography which was released last month – allegations Andrew has denied.
In the second exchange of emails, between Epstein and Michael Wolff, a journalist who has written several books about the Trump administration, dated 31 January 2019, Epstein wrote:
[REDACTED NAME] worked at mara lago. . she was the one that accused prince andrew. . trump said me to resign, never a member ever.. of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop
The third email exchange, between Epstein and Wolff, dated between 15 and 16 December 2015 shows that Wolff wrote:
I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you–either on air or in scrum afterwards.
Epstein replied:
if we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?
Wolff responded:
I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt. Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he’ll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime.
Responding to the release of emails, Mr Wolff posted a video on Instagram: “I have been trying to talk about this story for a very long time now and perhaps we’re getting close to the smoking gun.
“These two men… had the closest of relationships for more than a decade.”
:: Andrew included in Epstein emails
In several email exchanges, Epstein refers to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and a picture of him with victim Virginia Giuffre.
A photo emerged in 2011 of Andrew, which has become infamous, showing the former prince with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, apparently taken in Ghislaine Maxwell’s London home.
The former duke, who was recently stripped of his titles, has previously said he didn’t recall meeting Ms Giuffre and claimed an image of the pair could have been doctored.
Although the name of the “girl” is redacted, Epstein appears in his email exchange to be referring to Ms Giuffre, who at the time had spoken to The Mail on Sunday, which had published the photo.
The now infamous photo that appears to show Andrew and Virginia Giuffre. Pic: Rex/Shutterstock
In an email from Epstein to a reporter on 1 July 2011, he said:
The girl has fled the country with an outstanding arrest warrant. The da (sic) after she accused others, said in writing that she has no credibility, she was never 15 years old working for me, her story made it seem like she first worked for trump at that age and was met by ghislaine maxwell.
Total horseshit, the daily mail paid her money, they admitted it, with the statement that it took money to coax out the truth.
Yes she was on my plane, and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew, as many of my employees have.
In a separate email to a publicist on 1 July 2011, Epstein writes:
The girl who accused Prince Andrew can also easily be proven to be a liar.
I think Buckingham Palace would love it. You should task someone to investigate the girl Virginia Roberts, that has caused the Queen’s son all this agro (sic).
I promise you she is a fraud. You and I will be able to go to ascot (sic) for the rest of our lives.
:: Mandelson and Epstein talk Trump
According to the documents, Peter Mandelson, who was sacked as the UK ambassador to the US in September, was continuing his connections with Epstein in 2016.
Sir Keir Starmer dismissed him after learning about emails between him and Epstein from 2005 to 2010 – including after Epstein’s conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Andrew and Peter Mandelson at a reception in 10 Downing Street in 2009
In an exchange between Epstein and Peter Mandelson on 6 November 2016, Epstein wrote:
63 years old. . you made it
Responding to the message referring to his birthday several days before, Mr Mandelson replied:
Just. I have decided to extend my life by spending more of it in the US.
On the same day, and just before the 2016 US presidential election, Epstein then replies:
in the donald white house
Epstein goes on to refer to Andrew and Mr Mandelson’s partner, now husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva:
trump/ and having agreat [sic] deal of fun. In hindsight. you were right about staying away from andrew. I was right in your staying with rinaldo [sic]
According to the documents, Mandelson responds:
Of course, donald in WH. Will he get there? Yes, without Andrew it would not have gone nuclear. Did you advise me to stay with R ? Such a handful but loyal and never embarrassing.
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Exclusive: Mandelson challenged on Epstein links
In a separate email from 7 March 2011, Epstein received an interview request from the BBC via his lawyer:
We are keen to explore the possibility of conducting an interview with Mr Epstein, on the subject of the stories which are circulating, however inaccurately, about both him and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York; we’d be keen to hear from Mr Epstein first hand so that the various and at times, speculative reporting which is at large in the UK press can be better
scrutinised?”.
The message was forwarded to Mr Mandelson, who replied, bluntly:
No!!
In May this year, Mr Mandelson was asked by Sky News about his relationship with Epstein: “I’m not answering any questions about him. My knowledge of him is something I regret, I wish I’d never met him in the first place.”
Read more from Sky News:
Key claims by Virginia Giuffre in memoir
Ghislaine Maxwell appeals to Trump
US Congress summons Andrew
Sky News’ US news partner NBC News has reached out to lawyers for Michael Wolff, Maxwell and the family of Virginia Giuffre for comment.
The top Democrat on the House committee, Robert Garcia of California, said in a statement that the released emails “raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President”.
The Oversight Committee Democrats say the emails strike “a blow against the White House’s Epstein cover-up”.
But White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump.
“The ‘unnamed victim’ referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions.”
The newly released files have dragged Donald Trump’s name back into one of the darkest scandals of modern American life.
Emails from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, released by a congressional committee, don’t allege any criminal activity by the president.
But the Democrats say they raise fresh questions about what he knew about the paedophile and when he knew it.
The key detail comes from two Epstein emails, one sent to his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, another to author Michael Wolff.
In 2011, he wrote to Maxwell: “I want you to realize that the dog that hasn’t barked is Trump. VICTIM spent hours at my house with him… he has never once been mentioned. police chief etc. I’m 75% there.”
Trump latest: 20,000 pages published in response to ‘leak’
Undated picture of Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: US Department of Justice
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Democrats had redacted the name because the victim in question was Virginia Guiffre, who never accused the president of wrongdoing.
In a 2019 exchange with Wolff, Epstein wrote: “trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever. of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop”.
Those words are ambiguous and we don’t know the context in which they were written but earlier this year, Trump said he had fallen out with Jeffrey Epstein after he “stole” young women who worked at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and it could be a reference to that dispute.
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Karoline Leavitt defends Trump
For years, Trump promised to declassify all Epstein-related files – a pledge positioning him as a truth-teller exposing elite corruption.
Now that others are releasing those materials first, the image that helped return him to the White House takes a hit.
Instead of leading the charge, he’s reacting to it, and among his base, there are many who remain convinced of an Epstein-related cover-up.
Legally, there is nothing new here pointing to liability, but reputationally, this is dangerous terrain for the president.
Read more:
What do Epstein documents say about Trump, Andrew and Mandelson?
Andrew did have photo taken with Virginia Giuffre, Epstein said
Author Michael Wolff. Pic: AP
The mention of a “victim” spending hours with him at Epstein’s home, without clear context, invites headlines and speculation that could linger for months.
But he has weathered much worse – his survival often relies on turning scandal into proof of persecution.
That explains why the White House is doubling down on its claim that Democrats are releasing selective documents to the “liberal media” to smear Donald Trump.
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