Key points
- New messages reveal US defence secretary gave minute-by-minute timings of Houthi strike plan in Signal chat with journalist
- Donald Trump calls Signal chat debacle a 'witch hunt'
- Hegseth swears in furious response to latest revelations
- Information shared by Hegseth was 'classified at time he wrote it'
- 'Excuse after excuse': Trump officials told they're 'lying to country' at intelligence committee
- Vice-president attacks journalist, claiming he 'oversold' story
- David Blevins: The journalist was always going to keep receipts
We're pausing our coverage
But we'll be back tomorrow with more updates on theSignal breach debacle.
Today, The Atlantic magazine published what it said was a timeline of war plans shared by the US defence secretary in a group chat that mistakenly included a journalist.
The latest revelation came after the White House sought to downplay the leak of information about plans to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen - saying no classified information had been disclosed.
The plan was shared in a group chat on messaging app Signal that included senior government officials, including Vice President JD Vance and defence secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
Here are the other key lines from tonight:
- Donald Trump called the debacle around the Signal breach a "witch hunt";
- US defence secretary Pete Hegseth sweared in a furious response to the latestAtlantic article;
- Republican senator Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called for an independent investigation of the security breach in the Trump administration;
- Special envoy Steve Witkoff denied reports he was receiving messages on the Signal chat while in Russia;
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saidSignal was an "approved" app.
ICYMI: What was said in security breach Signal chat?
The last few days have all been centred around one group chat set up on Signal - an encrypted messaging app.
The group included some of the most senior individuals in the sitting Trump administration.
And then a journalist was added to it.
Read the article below for more information on what was discussed and by whom...
Department of Defence 2023 memo warns Signal 'NOT authorised'
Earlier today, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Signal was an "approved" app (see our 5.24pm post).
But in an October 2023 memo, the Department of Defence said the app was: "NOT authorised to access, transmit, process non-public DoD information."
In one passage of the nine-page document, it read: "Unmanaged 'messaging apps,' including any app with a chat feature, regardless of the primary function, are NOT authorised to access, transmit, process non-public DoD information.
"This includes but is not limited to messaging, gaming, and social media apps. (i.e., iMessage, WhatsApps, Signal)."
Speaking yesterday, Donald Trump said that the app was frequently used within the US government and the army.
EU chief responds to Trump tariffs
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has issued a response to Donald Trump's tariffs announcement.
She said she "deeply regrets" the US decision and will continue to seek negotiated solutions.
Here is what she has said...
Earlier, Trump said he would introduce a 25% tariff on all cars not made in the US, signing an executive order on it.
He also touched on what he has branded Liberation Day - 2 April - when many of his promised import tariffs will kick in.
Trump interrupts question on Signal chat - then calls it a 'witch hunt'
Donald Trump was just asked a question on the Signal chat security breach.
However, halfway through the reporter's question, he interrupted, saying: "Hold on a second,".
He then went to another reporter, who asked about tariffs.
When another reporter asked a follow-up, Trump claimed: "It's all a witch hunt."
He went on to claim, without evidence, the Houthis wanted peace.
"That's the thing you should be talking about," he said.
Reporters continued to press him on the topic.
Trump said he was "not sure" when asked if anything classified was shared.
Some of the top members of his administration previously said that no classified information had been shared.
Earlier today, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she had been speaking to Trump about the chat.
Trump sticks to message so far
So far, Donald Trump has stuck to message, talking about tariffs and the auto industry in America.
He said he would introduce a 25% tariff on all cars not made in the US, signing an executive order on it.
He also touched on what he has branded Liberation Day - 2 April - when many of his promised import tariffs will kick in.
Trump has approached tariffs as a panacea for his economic ills so far, using them frequently.
Stick with us for anything more on the security breach.
Watch Donald Trump talking on auto tariffs
Watch live as US President Donald Trump discusses the tariffs he's bringing in on the car industry.
If he strays onto the security breach, we'll bring you the latest news.
He was due to speak at 8pm, but overran speaking at a Women's History Month event earlier.
Watch live in the stream at the top of the page - and we'll bring you the latest here too.
Attack, discredit and distract: Marjorie Taylor-Greene sticks to the fraying Trump playbook
Marjorie Taylor-Greene has become the most aggressive spokesperson for the "Make America Great Again" movement.
It's perhaps no surprise, then, that she would read straight from a fraying playbook when confronted about the Signal group chat fiasco.
Team Trump has adopted a crisis management strategy of attack, discredit and distract, a dark art of which Taylor-Greene is emerging as a master.
When questioned about whether the texts on the group chat, detailing timings and weapons to be used on strikes on Houthis in Yemen, amount to classified information, she refused to answer the question.
The representative from Georgia attempted to deflect attention onto the Biden administration, then onto the US's border problem and finally, in a remarkable act of contortion, onto "all the women that are raped by migrants" in the UK.
Refusing to answer a question from Sky News, she then turned to a question from a US reporter - who also asked for clarification on her views about the Signal scandal and its national security ramifications.
Eventually, Taylor-Greene did respond to The Atlantic magazine's revelation of texts on the signal group chat, fully backing defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, who is facing calls for his resignation.
In case you missed it, here is Kelner's encounter with Taylor-Greene...
Denmark welcome US decision to limit Greenland trip
Some more US security news now, but stepping briefly away from the Signalgate breach.
Denmark has welcomed the US decision to limit its trip to Greenland.
The trip has been confined to just visiting a military base, after plans triggered a spat between Copenhagen and Washington.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesdaythat a scheduled visit by Usha Vance, the wife of vicepresident JD Vance, to a popular dog-sled race in Greenland thisweek was part of an "unacceptable pressure" on thesemi-autonomous Danish territory.
Frederiksen vowed to resist the pressure, but warned: "President Trump's interest in Greenland is not going away."
But the White House went on to announce that the visit will be limited to the US base at Pituffik in northern Greenland.
"This is clearly a de-escalation," Danish foreign ministerLars Lokke Rasmussen said.
"I think it's very positive that the Americans cancelledtheir visit to the Greenlandic society. Instead, they will visittheir own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that," hesaid.
For context:
Trump previously said he thinks the US will annex Greenland.
During an Oval Office meeting with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte earlier this month, he was asked about his hopes to take the land.
"I think that will happen," he said. "I didn't give it much thought before, but I'm sitting with a man who could be very instrumental."
Greenland has been controlled by Denmark for centuries, first as a colony, then as a semi-sovereign territory.
It is subject to the Danish constitution, meaning any change to its legal status would require a constitutional amendment.
Powerful Republican calls for independent probe into Signal security breach
A powerful Republican senator has called for an independent investigation of the security breach in the Trump administration.
Senator Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he and senator Jack Reed, the panel's top Democrat, would ask Donald Trump's administration to expedite an Inspector General report and provide a classified briefing.
He said: "We are signing a letter today asking the administration toexpedite an IG report back to the committee.
"We're sending asimilar letter to the administration in an attempt to get groundtruth," Wicker told reporters at the Capitol.
"The information as published recently appears to me to beof such a sensitive nature that, based on my knowledge, I wouldhave wanted it classified," he said.
The defence department's inspector general, a nonpartisanofficial charged with rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, wasone of several officials Trump has fired since beginning hissecond term in January.
He has not been replaced.
Wicker said he was nonetheless confident the Pentagonwould go through with an inspector general report.
