US Defense Secretary Reveals Classified Information in “Chat”
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Pete Hegseth, the US Defense Secretary, shared information about American airstrikes in Yemen in a second chat group on the Signal app that included his wife, brother, and personal attorney.
Agence France-Presse was unable to independently verify the newspaper’s report, which indicated that this is the second time Hegseth has been accused of sharing sensitive military information on the messaging app with unauthorized individuals.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, is under internal investigation at the Pentagon after sharing sensitive information on Signal on March 15 in a conversation that apparently mistakenly included a journalist.
Last month, The Atlantic revealed that its editor-in-chief was accidentally added to a Signal group chat where officials, including Hegseth and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, discussed airstrikes conducted on March 15.
The incident sparked a significant uproar, and the administration of President Donald Trump faced a scandal over the leaks. The investigation, being conducted by the Pentagon’s inspector general concerning these leaks, is ongoing.
According to The New York Times, Hegseth also participated in a second conversation on Signal the same day, which included his wife, brother, and attorney “as well as about ten people from his personal and professional circle.”
The newspaper quoted “four people familiar with the conversation” stating that the Defense Secretary disclosed the exact flight schedules of planes intended to strike Houthi rebel targets in Yemen; “which are essentially the same attack plans he shared the same day in another Signal group.”
The report noted that the minister’s wife, a journalist and former employee at Fox News, does not work at the Defense Department, while Hegseth’s brother and attorney hold positions there. The newspaper added: “But it is unclear why either of them would need to be informed about the imminent strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.”
According to the paper, Pentagon officials warned the minister a few days prior that he should not discuss strike-related information in Yemen over Signal, which is an encrypted messaging service considered less secure than the official channels typically used for sensitive data.
The Pentagon did not comment on this information on Sunday evening. The newspaper quoted a senior official who declined to disclose whether Hegseth shared detailed information about the targets; however, he stated that there had been no breach of national security.
During the first “Signal Gate” scandal, President Donald Trump defended his ministers involved in the conversation with journalist Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic. Mike Waltz, his National Security Advisor, took responsibility for the incident, explaining that he created the group on Signal.
According to The New York Times, the other chat group was established by Hegseth himself before he became Secretary of Defense.
This comes at a time when three senior officials from the US Department of Defense were dismissed last week following unspecified leaks.
On Sunday, the involved officials—Darren Silnick, chief of staff to Hegseth, and advisors Dan Caldwell and Colin Carroll—issued a statement accusing the department of “slandering them with unfounded attacks.”
The three wrote on social media: “So far, we have not been informed of the specific reasons for our investigation, or whether an investigation is ongoing, or whether there is any inquiry regarding the leaks.”
