In a stunning revelation, a leaked Signal group chat among top Trump administration officials has not only exposed a massive national security breach but also included what experts are calling a confession to an alleged war crime.
The messages, obtained by The Atlantic and made public by journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, reveal that National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and Vice President JD Vance celebrated the collapse of a residential building following a U.S. strike in Yemen. Their exchange raises grave concerns about both military misconduct and the competence of senior officials who inadvertently added a journalist to a private chat discussing classified war plans.
Inside the Leaked Messages
- Casual Admission of Civilian Targeting: Waltz praised U.S. military leaders for an “amazing job,” stating a “building collapsed” after intelligence identified a Houthi leader entering a residential building.
- Direct Acknowledgment of Civilian Risk: Waltz clarified to Vance: “Their first target—their top missile guy—we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend’s building and it’s now collapsed.”
- At Least 31 Civilian Deaths: The bombing campaign, carried out on March 15, reportedly struck a residential neighborhood in Sanaa, according to Houthi media reports.
Experts Call It a War Crime
Legal and foreign policy experts are sounding the alarm over what these leaked messages reveal:
- Dylan Williams, Vice President for Government Affairs at the Center for International Policy, stated the messages are “prima facie evidence of at least one war crime applauded by the people who conspired to commit it.”
- Journalist Kim Zetter noted that the chat suggests officials knew they were targeting a civilian building—directly contradicting Trump’s public claims.
- Matt Duss, Executive Vice President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, called this part of the U.S. government’s dangerous shift toward indiscriminate warfare, warning: “The costs of these new rules of war will be paid with the blood of civilians worldwide for generations to come.”
A Pattern of Dangerous Precedents
This revelation comes amid growing scrutiny of U.S. military policies that blur the line between combatants and civilians, a trend seen in both Yemen and Israel’s war in Gaza. Experts warn that Washington’s increasingly broad definitions of “legitimate targets” are setting a deadly global precedent.
Duss summed it up bluntly: “Rules of engagement that permit destroying an entire civilian apartment building to kill one alleged terrorist is part of Joe Biden’s legacy. It’s still a war crime, though. And Waltz’s text is a confession.”
What Happens Now?
With mounting calls for accountability, the leaked chat has prompted demands for a full congressional investigation into both the security breach and potential violations of international law.
This story isn’t just about a reckless mishandling of sensitive information—it’s about the normalization of war crimes at the highest levels of government.
Will there be consequences? Or will top officials once again escape accountability?
