Shared in Signal chat were classified

Sources told CNN the details Hegseth shared in Signal chat were classified. Here's the latest

From CNN staff

More text messages published yesterday by The Atlantic from the Signal group chat of top US officials underscored a massive breach in operational security as information about the deadly attack on Houthi targets in Yemen was shared before it was carried out.

Top US officials have maintained that the information disclosed was not classified. But sources told CNN the information Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth shared was highly classified at the time he wrote it.

President Donald Trump called the fallout “a witch hunt.” He said his national security adviser Mike Waltz took responsibility for creating the Signal group but shrugged off any culpability on Hegseth’s part. He also said nothing in the chat “compromised” the attack.

The attack killed 53 people and wounded almost 100 others, including women and children.

Here’s what to know:

• Report redacted: The Atlantic decided to redact a sensitive piece of information out of their follow-up article because they “felt it was best to do” and the CIA asked them to.
• Watch a re-enactment of the chat: CNN created an audio version of the chat using AI software with the voices reading the text neutrally. Watch here.
• New details: The newly published messages included texts The Atlantic had previously withheld because they included specific operational details Hegseth sent to the group about the timing and weapons systems the US military intended to use. You can read a full, annotated version of the texts here.
• Request for report: Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker said he and the top Democrat on the panel, Sen. Jack Reed, are asking the administration for an Inspector General report on the Signal chat for the committee to review.
• Intelligence hearing: Top Trump intelligence officials were grilled again about the incident, testifying in front of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. Gabbard acknowledged the inclusion of a journalist in the Signal discussion was a “mistake,” but reiterated her belief that the chat contained no classified information. She said the National Security Council was conducting “an in-depth review.”