Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg defended his decision Wednesday to publish the full transcript of messages from a secret government group chat he was added to, as White House officials struggle to downplay the catastrophic leak.

An inadvertent invitation to a group chat thrust The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg into the center of an explosive national security breach that's put the White House on the defensive. Why it matters: Goldberg's decision to disclose the discussion of planned strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen and publish the group chat's contents has embroiled top Trump officials in scandal and exposed them to potential legal jeopardy.

Mr. Goldberg, who was included on a private text thread discussing war plans, was a longtime national security reporter who became editor of The Atlantic in 2016.