President Donald Trump and his team held a secret Mar-a-Lago dinner on the same day as the U.S. bombing of Yemen, which top administration officials reportedly planned in a group chat that mistakenly included a journalist.
Just hours after the U.S. military strike on Houthi forces was carried out on Mar. 15—killing at least 53 people, including children—Trump, his billionaire advisor Elon Musk, and Musk’s four-year-old son flew down to the president’s Florida club for a “candlelight” dinner, according to Wired.
White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz joined them for the dinner, where guests were reportedly charged $1 million per seat. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also photographed at Mar-a-Lago that weekend.
It was revealed Monday that top Trump officials, including Miller, Waltz, and Rubio, had discussed the military strike on the commercial messaging app Signal. Experts say the use of the app to discuss highly classified information likely broke several security protocols.
The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg broke the story after was mistakenly added to the chat by Waltz, who had apparently intended to invite U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
After the bombing, the group patted each other on the back in the group chat. “Amazing job,” Waltz texted, while Rubio congratulated Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, “Good Job Pete and your team!!”
Waltz then gave a nod to the team at Mar-a-Lago, which included Miller, Waltz, and Rubio: “The team in MAL did a great job too.”
Trump has previously faced 40 felony counts over allegations he stored dozens of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after his first term, to which he pleaded not guilty. In July 2024, a judge dismissed the case on the grounds the Jack Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional.
Although Smith appealed to revive the case, the Justice Department dropped it after Trump won the 2024 election, citing its policy that opposes prosecuting a sitting president.
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