By Rabia Iclal Turan
WASHINGTON (AA) - US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said Tuesday that he takes "full responsibility" for the inclusion of a journalist in a private Signal chat group where senior Trump administration officials discussed a planned military strike in Yemen.
"I take full responsibility. I built the group," Waltz told Fox News. "It's embarrassing. We're going to get to the bottom of it."
The Signal group, called "Houthi PC small group," reportedly included high-ranking officials such as Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
The Atlantic magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, said in a bombshell report Monday that he had been mistakenly added to the “Houthi PC small group” chat on March 13 after receiving a connection request from an account bearing Waltz’s name two days prior.
Waltz strongly criticized Goldberg, labeling him the "bottom scum of journalists" and denying any personal connection to him.
"I don't know this guy. I know him by his horrible reputation," he said, questioning how Goldberg’s number ended up in the group.
President Donald Trump dismissed concerns over the breach, telling reporters at the White House on Monday "I don’t know anything about it," while defending Waltz. "He’s not getting fired," Trump said, calling the incident a "mistake."
Democrats, however, have called for accountability, with Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner condemning the leak as "sloppy, careless, and incompetent."