A recent security breach involving Trump administration officials and Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, has reportedly been attributed by the White House to an auto-suggested contact feature on the iPhone. Jeffrey Goldberg was unexpectedly added to a sensitive Signal group chat where officials were discussing plans for an airstrike in Yemen.
Initially, the simplest explanation appeared to be human error: National Security Adviser Mike Waltz mistakenly adding Goldberg, whose number he already had in his phone. Goldberg himself had previously dismissed Waltz’s initial claims—that his contact had somehow been unintentionally pulled in from another source—as overly conspiratorial, remarking, “This isn’t ‘The Matrix.'”
However, an internal White House investigation led by its information technology office has reportedly determined a more complex scenario was at play. According to their findings, the mishap began after Goldberg reached out by email to the White House press team seeking comment for a story. Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the Trump administration, then texted National Security Adviser Waltz with details from Goldberg’s message.
Following this interaction, Waltz’s iPhone apparently prompted a “contact suggestion update,” mistakenly associating Goldberg’s number with Brian Hughes’ name. Subsequently, when Waltz added what he believed to be Hughes’ number to the secure Signal group, he inadvertently added Goldberg instead.
Addressing the matter briefly, Goldberg said only, “I’m not going to comment on my relationship with Mike Waltz beyond saying I do know him and have spoken to him.”
