The Atlantic magazine Wednesday published excerpts of plans for American attacks on Houthi rebels that were shared by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a Signal group chat as outrage about the leak continued to grow.

While the House of Representatives grilled intelligence officials, editor Jeffrey Goldberg published details about the successful March 15 strike in Yemen that Hegseth shared in the group chat, to which the veteran journalist was mistakenly given access.

The Atlantic said it was baring the details, which included times of the attacks, targets and weapons used, because the Trump administration claimed none of the information revealed in the Signal chat was classified.

“People should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions,” Goldberg wrote. “There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Donald Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared.”

The White House again sought to downplay the shocking scandal.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Atlantic’s description of the military details as “attack plans” and not “war plans” undercuts the veracity of Goldberg’s reporting.

“This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin,” Leavitt tweeted.

Vice President J.D. Vance chimed in that Goldberg “oversold” the story, a flabbergasting claim given that the leak is already being described as one of the most significant national security lapses in recent years.

The damage control unfolded as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe underwent a second day of grilling in Capitol Hill about the leaked group chat.

“It’s by the awesome grace of God that we are not mourning dead pilots right now,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, the committee chairman.

Both Gabbard and Ratcliffe again insisted that they did nothing wrong by participating in the unsecure chat and claimed the material involved was not classified.

They asserted that there were no names of targets or location data revealed in the chat, although Hegseth identified one target as a top Houthi official who was said to have been spotted walking into a building in Yemen with a girlfriend immediately before the strike was carried out.

The Houthi leader was apparently killed in the attack.

Goldberg was added to the chat group by National Security Administrator Mike Waltz in the hours before the attack was launched.

Waltz said he took “full responsibility” for the lapse. But he also implied that Goldberg played some role in being added to the chat. However, only participants in a Signal group chat can add a new participant.

Goldberg’s initial article left out many key details that were revealed on the chat out of concern that making them public could endanger American service members or undercut future missions.

He published the details only after Trump brushed aside concerns about the lapse and derided the story as a “hoax.”

National security experts say information about upcoming strikes on adversaries are presumptively considered classified.

If Hegseth decided to declassify the information, critics say that would amount a grave error in judgment because it could lead to unauthorized disclosure and put American troops in danger.

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