March 24 (Day 64) | The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic says he was texted Trump administration war plans against the Houthis in Yemen in a group text accidentally. Among others on the chat were Vice President Vance, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Trump adviser Stephen Miller. Hegseth contended, “Nobody was texting war plans” and criticized the journalist. The National Security Council confirmed the authenticity of the chain. | More ›
March 25 (Day 65) | NPR reports the Pentagon sent out guidance days after the call about the vulnerability of Signal as a platform, because it is a target of Russian hackers. In 2023, a Pentagon memo also warned against the platform’s use for any non-public official information. | More ›
March 25 (Day 65) | Senate intelligence hearing takes place. There were no apologies from Gabbard or Ratcliffe. Gabbard initially wouldn’t even acknowledge that she was the “TG” in the group. Ratcliffe did and says it was a “mistake,” as the White House did. Both Gabbard and Ratcliffe deferred to Hegseth on issues of classification. | More ›
March 26 (Day 66) | Judge James Boasberg is assigned a lawsuit about the Signal chat group potentially violating recordkeeping laws. The next day, Boasberg orders that the contents of the chat must be preserved. | More ›
March 26 (Day 66) | A day after multiple administration officials contended there was no classified material talked about in the Signal chat group, The Atlantic publishes the full texts. The White House responds saying The Atlantic is conceding these weren’t “war plans,” because the magazine now calls them “attack plans” and that the story is a “hoax.” The story, with screenshots, notes specific times hours before bombs dropped. One text from Hegseth says, for example, “THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP.” | More ›
March 31 (Day 71) | The White House says it has closed its investigation of the Signal chat group breach. | More ›
April 20 (Day 91) | John Ullyot, a former Pentagon spokesman, writes an opinion piece in Politico – with his name on it – describing “a month of total chaos” and predicts Trump will fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. | More ›
April 22 (Day 93) | NPR and others report that Hegseth was cutting and pasting information from a secure channel sent by the head of U.S. Central Command, Erik Kurilla, to Signal chat groups, including one with his wife, brother and personal lawyer. | More ›
April 28 (Day 99) | Trump tells The Atlantic, the magazine that published the Signal chat, that he thinks Hegseth is “gonne get it together” and says he “had a talk with him.” The next day, he tells ABC News, he calls Hegseth a “talented guy” and “smart,” but says it’s a “stupid question” to ask if he has 100% confidence in his Defense secretary. “I don’t have a 100% confidence in anything, OK? Anything.” | More ›