PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 7th, 2025: Revealed: How A Reporter Was Added To Yemen War Chat On Signal & Iran-Backed Militias Back Down
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It's Monday, the 7th of April. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed.

We'll start things off with new revelations about that war plans chat group on Signal. Remember that? It was a bizarre story that captured the headlines for a few days, and then, much like everything else that happens in Washington, D.C., it disappeared from view. We're now learning how the Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg ended up in the chat about U.S. strikes in Yemen.

It all traces back to a contact mix-up, an old campaign email, and one very unhelpful iPhone. Later in the show, several powerful Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq are reportedly prepared to disarm for the first time to avert the threat of an escalating conflict with the U.S. Trump administration.

But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We're finally learning the details of exactly how Atlantic Magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg wound up in a Signal group chat where senior Trump administration officials were discussing upcoming military strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. And the answer is, it was a contact list mix-up on an iPhone. Of course it was. It's a very 2020s mistake.

Speaking with The Guardian in the UK, three sources familiar with the White House's internal investigation said the table was set for the incident way back in October during the presidential campaign. Goldberg had emailed the Trump campaign about a critical story that he was writing, one that questioned Trump's views on wounded service members. In response, the campaign brought in Congressman Mike Waltz, a national security surrogate, to push back.

Now, here's where it gets, let's call it unusual. Goldberg's email, which included his signature block and phone number, you know how emails do sometimes, was forwarded to Waltz by Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes, who just copied and pasted the whole thing into a text. Okay, Waltz never called Goldberg, but somehow, likely due to his iPhone's contact suggestion algorithm,

Goldberg's number was saved under Hughes' contact card. It's always the algorithm, isn't it? Fast forward to March. Walt Snell, Trump's national security advisor, goes to create a signal group chat called "Hootie PC Small Group" to coordinate with top officials about U.S. military action in Yemen. And a crazy coincidence, I also have a chat group called "Hootie PC Small Group." You think, what are the odds?

So Waltz meant to add Hughes, but thanks to the contact card mix-up months earlier, well, he added Jeffrey Goldberg instead. And, as they say, the rest is history. The editor of The Atlantic was suddenly looped in on high-level sensitive conversations about upcoming U.S. military strikes on an unclassified messaging app.

According to reports, Trump was furious when the story broke, but not just because of the security implications. What really ticked him off? Well, apparently it was that Goldberg, editor of a magazine that Trump openly loathes, was in Waltz's phone at all.

Trump reportedly considered firing Waltz, but ultimately decided against it, partly to avoid the optics of a media-driven firing just weeks into his second term, and partly because the White House's internal review showed that it really was just an accident, an embarrassing bureaucratic digital age blunder.

That same review triggered a forensic audit by White House IT staff. They confirmed the iPhone had automatically merged Goldberg's number into the wrong contact, a, quote, contact suggestion update gone wrong. For his part, Waltz told Fox News that Goldberg's number had been sucked into his phone, his words, noting he'd never communicated with Goldberg. But when The Guardian reached out, Goldberg said something slightly different.

quote, I'm not going to comment on my relationship with Mike Waltz beyond saying I do know him and have spoken to him, end quote. Despite the fallout, Trump has stood by Waltz. Just days ago, the president boarded Marine One with Waltz by his side, along with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Personnel Chief Sergio Gore, a clear show of support.

And while this whole situation raised alarms about security and oversight, officials say that the White House had approved the use of Signal in the first place, simply because there wasn't a better real-time alternative for interagency communication. I mean, unless you count the secure phones that they're supposed to use, but other than that, no. Let this be a lesson for all of us, frankly. The next time you start a chat group to discuss bombing an Iranian proxy group,

Well, select your group members wisely. Coming up next, a potential significant development in Iraq. Several powerful Iranian-backed militias say that they're ready to disarm, marking a potential turning point as they look to avoid a direct clash with the Trump administration. I'll have those details when we come back.

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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. In a surprise move, several powerful Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have signaled a willingness to disarm in a move aimed at sidestepping potential American airstrikes under the Trump administration. The move follows months of stern warnings from the White House, which has quietly pressured Baghdad to bring the Iran-aligned militias to heel or face the consequences.

Since President Trump's return to office, U.S. officials have repeatedly made clear that the era of tolerance for Iranian proxy attacks is over. According to six commanders representing four major militias, including Qatayib Hezbollah, the most formidable of Iraq's Shiite factions, negotiations with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sadani are, quote, "...very advanced," as reported by Reuters.

There's a growing consensus among militia leaders that continued defiance risks drawing overwhelming US military retaliation.

These militias fall under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iranian-sponsored network overseen by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC. Since the eruption of the war in Gaza, these factions have launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on American and Israeli targets, purportedly in solidarity with Hamas.

Two senior Iraqi security officials told Reuters that militias command an estimated 50,000 fighters and stockpile weapons that include long-range rockets and anti-air systems. A Qatayib Haslallah commander admitted, "...we know Trump is ready to take the war to worse levels. We want to avoid such a bad scenario."

While formal disarmament agreements remain on the table, proposals under discussion include transitioning the militias into political entities or integrating them into Iraq's National Armed Forces. It's a strategy that mirrors past efforts at neutralizing paramilitary threats.

Prime Minister Soudani, in seeking to consolidate control, has made it clear that all arms must fall under state authority. His foreign affairs advisor told Reuters the government is pursuing "constructive dialogue with various national actors" to achieve that end.

Some factions have already begun repositioning, quietly withdrawing from urban flashpoints, moving command centers, and ramping up personnel security protocols. Several commanders now reportedly rotate phones, cars, and safe houses on a near-daily basis to avoid being targeted by American airpower.

Perhaps most notably, the IRGC appears to have loosened its grip. For the first time in recent memory, Tehran is allowing its Iraqi proxies to act with a degree of autonomy, prioritizing survival over ideological consistency as regional setbacks mount.

This shift comes at a volatile moment for Iran's so-called axis of resistance, which of course has suffered heavy setbacks across the region. Hamas and Hezbollah have absorbed Israeli bombardments and significant losses to their leadership. The Houthis are undergoing ongoing US air assaults, and December's fall of Syrian President Assad, a cornerstone of Iran's regional strategy, has further undercut the Iranian regime's influence.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reinforced Washington's red lines in a call on 16 March with a Sudanee shortly after U.S. strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen. Hegseth warned that any future militia reprisals on U.S. personnel or Israeli assets would trigger a decisive American response.

For Iraq, a nation long caught between Washington and Tehran, the latest developments suggest that its balancing act may be tilting under renewed American pressure and the militia's instinct for survival.

And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Monday, the 7th of April. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. Of course, to listen to the show ad-free, it's very easy. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.

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