A new screenshot reveals the moment Pete Hegseth and top Trump officials learned a journalist had been in their Signal chat.
The image, which The Daily Beast reported on Thursday, shows the precise point at which Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg exited the "Houthi PC small group" chat, where officials had been discussing military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. Nate Jones, who serves as FOIA director at The Washington Post, obtained the screenshot through a public records request and posted it to X, according to the report.
According to the image, which was released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, a participant identified by the initials "TG" cheered news of the successful strikes by writing "great work and effects!" Those initials are believed to belong to Tulsi Gabbard, who was serving as director of national intelligence at the time. Shortly after that message, everyone in the group, including Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, received an automated alert that read "Jeff Goldberg left the group."
"Imagine being a high-level government official cheering on the bombing of a country and the killing of individuals over a Signal chat," Jones wrote on X, describing what it would be like to then see the message "Jeff Goldberg left the group."
Goldberg first disclosed in March 2025 that Michael Waltz, then the national security adviser, had added him to the chat. The group went on to share war plans for the Yemen operation, including details on troop movements that could have endangered American service members had they been made public.
Waltz was ultimately pushed out of his post, but President Donald Trump did not discipline anyone else in the group. Others reported to be in the chat included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and her deputy Stephen Miller. Hegseth provided updates on the operation, while Vance raised doubts about whether the strikes were needed.