Speaking as a former naval aviator (515 missions during the Vietnam War), the content of the Signal texts that the Atlantic published categorically refute Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s assertion that no classified information was discussed. Here’s why the texts’ references to the attack were top secret:

Sen. Chuck Grassley said he didn't read transcripts of the text messages and "probably won't" but said they weren't classified information.

The White House continued to downplay the seriousness of the incident, parsing semantics and attacking the journalist who was inadvertently added to the chat.

A Pentagon-wide advisory that went out one week ago warned against using Signal, the messaging app, even for unclassified information.

The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee requested an investigation Thursday into how Trump national security officials used the Signal app to discuss military strikes and a federal judge said he would order the preservation of the messages,

Sue Gordon, former principal deputy national intelligence director, said the Trump administration needs to deal with any "persistent risk" to communications following the Signal chat leak.

The military takes extraordinary measures to keep combat operations secret, cutting off outside communications for service members before launching an attack.

The stunning news that the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic was accidentally included on a Signal chat where Trump defense and intelligence officials including Vice

The Journal obtained the following leaked Signal messages between Ismail Barhoum, former Hamas official in Gaza, and two other Hamas terrorists. Israel recently killed Barhoum in a targeted airstrike at Nasser Hospital in Southern Gaza, where he was hiding, shortly after the following messages were sent: