Why Did Mike Waltz Add Jeffrey Goldberg to the Signal Chat?

Some scandals begin with espionage. Others with betrayal. This one started with… a dead lawyer and a group text.

Picture this: it's 2025, and President Trump’s administration is planning airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen. Tensions are high. Stakes are higher. So naturally, the top minds in national security are coordinating their war plans in the most secure, sophisticated environment imaginable: a Signal group chat named “Houthi PC small group.” Very chill. Very casual. Very much not where you’d want Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, hanging out.

But he was there. Reading everything. In real time. For days.

How? Why? Enter: Jay Goldberg.

For those unfamiliar with the name, Jay Goldberg was Trump’s long-time personal attorney. Fiercely loyal. Unflinchingly discreet. Conveniently dead since 2022.

Which makes him the perfect Signal alias.

Theory: Trump, ever the fan of fake names (see: “John Barron,” “John Miller,” “DJT2044”), uses “Jay Goldberg” as his ghost-of-lawyers-past handle on Signal. Whether out of nostalgia, strategic ambiguity, or because he thinks dead lawyers can’t be subpoenaed, “Jay Goldberg” becomes his texting persona in top-secret circles.

Enter the National Security Council intern or staffer tasked with adding “JG” to the Yemen strike chat. They start typing “Jay Goldberg.” Signal helpfully suggests “Jeffrey Goldberg,” the only other “JG” in the contact list.

Boom. Added. Welcome to the war room, Jeff.

For the next 48 hours, he watches Trump’s cabinet casually coordinate kinetic military operations like it’s fantasy football.

Why hasn’t anyone been fired?
Because the real error implicates Trump. And you can’t fire the guy whose finger is on the launch codes. Especially when he’s texting under a dead man’s name.

Why isn’t the government explaining how it happened?
Because “the President’s ghost lawyer’s name accidentally triggered a national security leak” isn’t a great look.

Is it funny?
Yes.
Is it terrifying?
Also yes.

The ghost of Jay Goldberg now lives on in Signal history, having unwittingly helped a journalist witness national security planning firsthand. Dead hand texting at its finest. A haunting reminder that sometimes, the scariest thing in Washington isn’t spies or leaks—it’s autocomplete.