Yemen strike plans in Signal group chat raises questions about Espionage Act. Here’s what to know
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is facing scrutiny over the use of the commercially available app Signal to discuss plans for a U.S. military attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen, but did anyone break the law?
Inadvertently included on the chain was The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, who recounted how he was texted information about weapons packages, targets and timing before the strike unfolded.
Goldberg’s report quickly sparked questions about the administration’s handling of sensitive defense information, including whether the chat violated the Espionage Act.
The 1917 law “is the primary statutory vehicle through which the government typically brings criminal prosecutions for mishandling or leaks of classified information,” said national security attorney Bradley Moss.
Signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson soon after the U.S. entered World War I, the Espionage Act was aimed at cracking down on disloyal wartime activities.
Despite its title, Moss said “most of the statute has nothing to do with actual espionage and instead more broadly criminalizes the unauthorized storage, dissemination or modification of national defense information.”
President Donald Trump was charged under the Espionage Act for allegedly mishandling classified materials after his first term, allegations Trump denied. The case was dropped after the 2024 election, with the special counsel citing longstanding Justice Department policy not to prosecute sitting presidents.
The statute was also used in high-profile cases against Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira, who was sentenced last year to 15 years in prison for exposing defense information, and Chelsea Manning, who was imprisoned for the unauthorized release of hundreds of thousands of classified government documents to WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.
Democrats have called for an investigation into the use of the Signal group chat to discuss a military operation and for some officials involved to be fired or resign.
The White House and top officials have sought to minimize the incident, stating in their defense that there was no classified material involved in the message chain.
“This was not classified. Now, if it’s classified information, it’s probably a little bit different,” Trump said as he was hit with questions on the matter during a meeting with some of his ambassadors on Tuesday afternoon.
The exact content of the messages is unclear. The administration denies they included “war plans” though Goldberg said it included operational details of strikes on Yemen, including information about targets and attack sequencing. National Security Council spokesman, in a statement to ABC News on Monday, said the message thread that was reported “appears to be authentic.”
The Espionage Act, though, predates the modern classification system.
“In this context, information related to national defense also has to be information the possessor has a reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation,” said Sam Lebovic, a historian of U.S. politics who has studied the century-old statute.
“And if, as has been alleged, operational details were in that information, I think you could make the case that would be information which could be used to the injury of the U.S. or to the advantage of a foreign nation. And technically, whether or not it’s classified doesn’t have bearing on that definition,” Lebovic said.
Still, the expansive nature of the Espionage Act — which Lebovic said could cover essentially any disclosure of information related to national defense to someone unauthorized to receive it — has resulted in it being relatively rarely used other than in the most egregious cases.
“They’re often not prosecuted because the law is so broadly written, it gives prosecutors a great deal of discretion to decide when to bring charges and when not to,” Lebovic said.
FBI Director Kash Patel was questioned by Democratic Sen. Mark Warner on Tuesday in a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on whether his bureau would investigate the incident. Patel said he had just been briefed on the matter Monday night and Tuesday morning and didn’t have an update. Warner asked for one by the end of the day.
Officials with the White House’s National Security Council said they “are reviewing” how a reporter was added to the Signal chat, though the scope of the review, including whether it would attempt to determine why high-level discussions about military planning were taking place outside of official channels, was not immediately clear.
(LONDON) — Many residents of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon are expected to return to their homes in the coming days and weeks, with most of the fighting in both areas paused under Israeli ceasefire agreements with Hamas and Hezbollah.
Under Israel’s multi-phased deal with Hamas, some hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have started to be released. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to continue amid the first phase of the deal, which was slated to last about six weeks.
Israel strikes southern Lebanon
Israel has launched several strikes against southern Lebanon on Tuesday, saying it struck a Hezbollah truck and an additional vehicle transferring weapons in the areas of Chaqif and Nabatieh.
“The truck and the additional vehicle were struck after being monitored by the IDF at the time of the transfer of the weapons,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
“The IDF is determined to continue to operate in accordance with the understanding between Israel and Lebanon, despite Hezbollah’s attempts to return to southern Lebanon, and will operate against any threat posed to the state of Israel and its citizens,” the IDF said.
Egypt denies speaking to Trump about taking Palestinians from Gaza
Egypt on Tuesday denied reports that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump after the latter said Jordan and Egypt should take in Palestinians from Gaza.
“There was no truth to what some media outlets reported about a phone call between the Egyptian and American presidents,” a senior official told state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV. The official added that any such contact would have been announced.
Trump suggested on Saturday a plan to “clean out” the Gaza Strip, saying he would “like Egypt to take people,” and would like Jordan to do the same.
He elaborated on the remarks on Monday, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that he’d spoken with Sisi, although he did not clarify Sisi’s stance on accepting additional Palestinian refugees.
“I wish he would take some, we help them a lot, and I’m sure he can help us, he’s a friend of mine,” Trump said. “He’s in a very rough part of the world, to be honest, as they say, it’s a rough neighborhood, but I think he can do it.”
“When you look at the Gaza Strip, it’s been hell for so many years,” Trump said Monday. “There’s always been violence associated. So, I think you can get people living in areas that are a lot safer and maybe a lot better and maybe a lot more comfortable.”
Both Jordan and Egypt appeared to reject Trump’s suggestion. Egypt’s foreign ministry issued a statement affirming its rejection of the “displacement or the uprooting of Palestinians from their land whether temporarily or long-term,” and Jordan reiterated its “firm and unwavering” stance against any displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.
Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Washington D.C. on Feb. 4.
Israeli troops to remain in Syria for ‘unlimited period of time’
The IDF will remain on the summit of Hermon and in the security zone for an indefinite period, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.
“The IDF will remain on the summit of Mount Hermon and in the security zone for an unlimited period of time to ensure the security of the residents of the State of Israel. We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria — from here to the Sweida-Damascus axis, and we will not be dependent on others for our defense,” Katz said.
Israel warns Lebanese residents to avoid areas near border
Israel issued a warning to Lebanese residents on Tuesday, telling them to avoid multiple areas near the Israeli border as it redeploys in various locations in southern Lebanon.
At least 22 were killed over the weekend.
“The deployment process is taking place gradually and in some sectors it is being postponed and requires more time in order to ensure that Hezbollah is not able to re-establish its strength in the field,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
”Hezbollah, as usual, puts its narrow interests above the interests of the Lebanese state and tries through its mouthpieces to heat up the situation, despite being the main reason for the destruction of the south,” the IDF said.
Palestinians on returning home: ‘It feels like we’re reborn!’
Emotional scenes played out all over the Gaza Strip on Monday as families and friends reunited for the first time in over 15 months after the Israeli military allowed movement between northern and southern Gaza.
A sea of people swept the shoreline heading north along the sandy remains of the coastal highway. Many traveled on foot trudging through sand, a Palestinian flag flickering in the wind above them.
“It feels like we’re reborn!” Om Wael, a grandmother from Gaza City, told ABC News as she carried her granddaughter in her arms, with a look of joyful determination on her face.
“Even if our home is flattened, we’re so happy to return to our city, to our homes, unharmed. Thank God,” she said.
Mirvat Ajur, 29, from the Daraj neighborhood in central Gaza City, told ABC News that she walked for about five hours until she reached central Gaza.
“It was a difficult journey, but the people were very happy, singing, clapping and dancing in joy at returning to their homes,” she said.
Approximately 300,000 people made the journey home, according to figures released by Gazan authorities. Samira Halas, 55, was among them.
“I know that my home is damaged and burned, but I want to return to it,” Halas, from Gaza City’s Shuja’iyya neighborhood, told ABC News, describing the destruction she saw upon her return “like an earthquake had hit it.”
“I want to live in those burned and destroyed rooms,” she continued. “I am like a fish dying far from the sea.”
-ABC News’ Ruwaida Amer and Zoe Magee
At least 300,000 return to northern Gaza
At least 300,000 Palestinians returned home to northern Gaza on Monday, according to the Gaza government office, after Israel allowed them to cross into the north for the first time in over a year.
135,000 tents needed in Gaza
As people return to northern Gaza on Monday, the Gaza government said it “immediately and urgently” needs at least 135,000 tents because 90% of the buildings have been destroyed.
The government called on the international community to help provide “basic supplies” for Palestinians.
8 dead hostages among 33 being released in 1st phase: Israel
Of the 33 Israeli hostages set to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire, eight have been killed by Hamas, according to Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer.
Seven hostages have already been released since the start of the ceasefire, meaning 18 more living hostages will be released by Hamas in the coming weeks.
More hostages are set to be released on Thursday and Saturday, Mencer said.
Threats to ceasefire will ‘bear the full cost,’ Israeli minister says
Katz Israel, the Israeli defense minister, said on Monday that his country would “firmly” enforce the ceasefires that have paused fighting in Gaza.
“Anyone who violates the rules or threatens IDF forces will bear the full cost,” he said in Hebrew on social media. “We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7.”
Tens of thousands trek into northern Gaza
Tens of thousands of people were marching and driving on Monday back to northern Gaza, after Israel allowed them to cross into the north for the first time in over a year.
Long lines of Palestinians — some singing, others smiling and some kneeling to kiss the soil as they stepped into the northern part of the strip — were seen making their way home.
Those returning home were moving along two main routes.
Many of those who were were walking home were moving along al-Rashid Street, a path expected to be taken by about 300,000 people.
Many of those who were driving north were doing so along Salah al-Din Road.
A line of cars could be seen stretching for about 8 miles on Monday morning, as they waited for permission to cross into the northern part of Gaza.
-ABC News’ Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz, Jordana Miller, Nasser Atta and Samayeh Malekian
1 dead, 4 injured after IDF fired at ‘dozens of suspects’ in central Gaza
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its team evacuated one person who was killed, and four people who were injured, after an attack by Israeli snipers near the Wadi Gaza Bridge on Sunday.
Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that troops fired “warning shots” at “several gatherings of dozens of suspects” who the IDF said posed a threat to them.
Additionally, a rocket was destroyed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza, according to the IDF’s statement.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had introductory call with Israel’s Netanyahu
Newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an introductory call on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a statement from a U.S. senior defense official.
“Both leaders discussed the importance of advancing mutual security interests and priorities, especially in the face of persistent threats,” according to the statement.
Hegseth, who won Senate confirmation after being selected by President Donald Trump for the role, stressed to Netanyahu that the U.S. is “fully committed” to ensuring that Israel “has the capabilities it needs to defend itself,” according to the statement.
Additionally, the defense official said that “both leaders agreed to remain in close contact.”
Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended to Feb. 18
The White House announced Sunday that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended until Feb.18.
Lebanon, Israel and the U.S. will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after Oct. 7, 2023.
(DOHA) — A ceasefire deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas, more than 15 months into the conflict.
The agreement, which was brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, is currently being finalized, Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, announced during remarks in Doha late Wednesday. The Israelis will take the agreement back to their government for approval, he said.
The agreement will begin on Sunday, with the first, six-week phase seeing a ceasefire, the withdrawal of some Israeli forces to allow more aid to get in and the release of 33 hostages in Gaza, starting with women, children and the elderly, according to the Qatari prime minister. A number of Palestinian prisoners will be released, as well, he said.
According to the Hamas delegation in Doha, the provisions Hamas agreed to include the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphi corridor, in stages, and handing over 33 Israeli prisoners, dead and alive, in exchange for the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Negotiations would be completed in stages for the release of the remaining hostages, according to the Hamas delegation.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement that they resolved an issue over forces on the Philadelphi corridor, though there are several “unresolved clauses” in the deal they hope to finalize Wednesday night.
Israel said its security cabinet will convene on Thursday to approve the deal.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the deal is “the right move” and called upon the Israeli government to approve it.
“There is no greater moral, human, Jewish, or Israeli obligation than to bring our sons and daughters back to us — whether to recover at home, or to be laid to rest,” he said.
The head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Khalil Al-Hayya, thanked Qatar and Egypt for their “strenuous efforts and multiple rounds of negotiations” to reach a ceasefire deal.
Phase one will also include an increased flow of relief and humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip, the Qatari prime minister said. Coordination is currently underway to open the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing to allow the entry of international aid into Gaza, an Egyptian security source told ABC News.
The second and third phases of the agreement will be finalized after the first phase, the Qatari prime minister said. Phase two will mark a “permanent end of the war,” President Joe Biden said during remarks Wednesday.
Under phase two, the remaining living hostages will be released and all remaining Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza, according to Biden. The remains of the final hostages will be returned in phase three and a “major reconstruction plan for Gaza will begin,” Biden said.
Biden said the mediating countries have pledged to ensure that negotiations move forward “as long as it takes,” and that his team is coordinating closely with the incoming Trump administration “to make sure we’re all speaking with the same voice.”
The Qatari prime minister said Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. will monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
“With this agreement, I emphasize the importance of accelerating the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza to address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis, without any hindrances, until a sustainable peace is achieved through the two-state solution, and for the region to enjoy stability, security and development in a world that is large enough for everyone,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in a statement.
The United Nations is ready to support the implementation of the deal and “scale up the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement Wednesday.
In over a year of war between Israel and Hamas, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza and almost 110,000 injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. That figure does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. However, more than 14,000 children and 8,000 women have been killed, according to the health ministry.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they have killed more than 15,000 combatants throughout the course of the war, which was sparked by the unprecedented Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in southern Israel. More than 1,200 people were killed and another 253 were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
During a weeklong ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in late November 2023, Hamas freed more than 100 people. In exchange, Israel released more than 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Several hostages in Gaza have also been freed in the months since, while the bodies of others have been recovered.
Amid the renewed negotiations in early January, 94 abductees remained in Gaza, including 34 who have been confirmed dead, according to Israeli officials.
Hamas is currently advising Palestinians to remain alert until the official start of the agreement and to rely on official sources for information on the timing of the ceasefire.
Following news of a ceasefire and hostage deal being reached on Wednesday, people could be seen celebrating across Gaza and Israel.
Biden said the deal followed “many months of intensive diplomacy by the United States, along with Egypt and Qatar.”
“This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity,” Biden said in a statement.
“My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done,” he added.
Biden said he is determined to bring seven American hostages home, three of whom are alive. Two of them — Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen — are expected to be part of this first phase of the agreement, a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday. The third, Edan Alexander, will fall in the second release phase because of his Israeli military service, the official said, adding that the U.S. remains fully committed to getting him out.
President-elect Donald Trump also said Wednesday that a hostage deal has been reached, writing in a Truth Social post, “WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!”
Trump took credit for what he called an “EPIC” ceasefire agreement, saying it “could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November.” He said his special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and U.S. allies to “make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven.”
The families of seven American hostages in Gaza said they are “deeply grateful” that an agreement for the phased release of hostages has been reached.
“The coming days and weeks will be just as painful for our families as the entirety of our loved ones’ horrific ordeals,” the families said in a statement. “That is why we ask all parties to stay committed to this agreement, every phase until it is fully implemented and everyone has been returned. We feel hopeful that under President Trump’s leadership, every last hostage will come home.”
A new round of ceasefire negotiations began on Jan. 3 in Qatar. Delegations from both Israel and Hamas were dispatched to Doha to resume the negotiations, which were brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. The Biden administration also helped broker the talks.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously told reporters the United States wanted a ceasefire deal in Gaza and all remaining captives released before Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Blinken on Jan. 6 reported “intensified engagement,” including by Hamas, on reaching a deal, though he added, “We are yet to see agreement on final points.”
“We need Hamas to make the final necessary decisions to complete the agreement and to fundamentally change the circumstance for the hostages, getting them out, for people in Gaza, bringing them relief, and for the region as a whole, creating an opportunity to actually move forward to something better, more secure for everyone involved,” Blinken said at the time.
On Tuesday, Blinken said during an address at the Atlantic Council that Israel and Hamas were “on the brink” of reaching a six-week ceasefire deal that would see some hostages released from Gaza.
The deal comes after a ceasefire deal was reached between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024, weeks after Israel invaded southern Lebanon as part of an escalation of its conflict with Hezbollah.
It also follows the high-profile assassinations last year of Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar — with Sinwar being one of the key architects of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel — as well as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel has claimed responsibility for their deaths.
(LONDON and ISTANBUL) — Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Tuesday that the death toll from a pre-dawn fire at a hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort has risen to 66 and the number of injured is now 51.
“We are in deep pain,” Yerlikaya told reporters during a press conference. “We have unfortunately lost 66 lives in the fire that broke out at this hotel.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
