The Secretary of Defense put out classified war plans on Signal.
Posted by The Daily Beast Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 4 contradict3 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Daily Beast PodcastSep 8, 2026
Multiple reliable sources, including Reuters and The Atlantic, report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted operational details of a planned Yemen strike in a Signal chat, which supports the 'war plans' element. The 'classified' element is contested: DNI Tulsi Gabbard and the administration said no classified information was shared, while Rep.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
What was said
… I took it as Heger's panicking. I mean, a former general told, I think it was, The Times they'd never seen anything like this on this scale, 50 people, and, of course, from the Secretary of Forever Wars, who put out classified war plans, um, one of the first things he ended up doing on Signal, leading to Signal Gate with Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, on the chain. I mean, the idea, the irony of it, the irony of it, Michael, this incompetence, it's just, you know, it's Olympian level incompetence. They should open a new sport specifically for Trumpian cabinet members. But it's so hard to express this. …
The Daily Beast Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. DNI Tulsi Gabbard told Senate and House committees that there was no classified material in the Signal group, and the Atlantic cited her statement.[1][6]
Contradicts. Hegseth said 'Nobody was texting war plans', and Defense One reported the chat occurred on an unclassified app, with The Atlantic's Goldberg saying he avoided revealing classified information.[2][6][7]
Supports. Reuters and The Atlantic report that Hegseth posted operational details about targets, weapons and attack sequencing for the planned strike on Yemen's Houthis in the Signal group chat.[3][6]
Supports. Rep. Gregory Meeks, House Foreign Affairs ranking member, stated that Hegseth 'shared classified U.S. war plans over Signal', a claim that matches the wording of the claim.[4][5]
Context. PolitiFact found the texts were not the most extensive type of war plan but contained a detailed timeline and operational information akin to a plan, with experts calling the administration's denial disingenuous.[2]
Sources
7 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 2 primary, 1 tier 2, 1 not rated
- 1The White House says nothing classified was shared on ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Hegseth says leaked Signal group text didn't have 'war ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts, context
- 3White House mistakenly shares Yemen war plans with a ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 4House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Meeks ...meeks.house.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 5Meeks Calls for Hegseth to Resign After Revelation He Shared ...democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 6Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump's Advisers Shared ...theatlantic.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 7The D Brief: SecDef's OPSEC fail; Natsec team's debate ...defenseone.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post