Topline
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he shared “informal, unclassified coordinations” on Signal “then and now,” all but confirming a new report saying he participated in a second group chat in which he allegedly shared sensitive information about the U.S. military’s attack plans in Yemen.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to reporters during the White House Easter Egg Roll on … More
Key Facts
Hegseth on Tuesday repeated the defense he used in the wake of a previous report last month about a Signal leak to Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg: “No one’s texting war plans,” he said during a Fox News interview, insisting the chats were used “for media coordination and other things” and blaming internal “leakers” for the damning stories.
Hegseth gave a similar explanation Monday when asked about the Sunday New York Times report citing four unnamed sources who said he shared the military plans with about a dozen other people, including his brother, personal lawyer and wife in a second Signal group chat the same day the information was leaked to Goldberg.
In the Tuesday interview he blamed “disgruntled former employees are peddling things to try to save their ass,” and went claimed “there’s sufficient evidence to believe” three of his top advisors who were recently fired, Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll, and Darin Selnick, “or others near them were party to leaking.”
Hegseth gave the Tuesday interview amid new reports about dysfunction at the Department of Defense under his leadership and additional revelations about the Signal chat leaks.
The information Hegseth shared in both chats came directly from Army Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla via a secure government channel and Hegseth sent it to both chats from his personal phone less than 10 min after receiving it, NBC reported Tuesday, citing three unnamed government officials.
Meanwhile, Hegseth told Fox his chief of staff Joe Kasper would move to a different role, hours after the New York Times reported employees have complained Kasper often leads unfocused meetings that veer off topic, including one earlier this month with a veterans group in which Kasper discussed visiting a strip club with one of the group representatives, according to an unnamed source.
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Chief Critic
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., on Monday became the first Republican to suggest Hegseth should be replaced, telling Politico “if it’s true that he had another [Signal]
chat with his family, about the missions against the Houthis, it’s totally unacceptable . . . I wouldn’t tolerate it if I was in charge.” Bacon said “Russia and China are all over his phone, and for him to be putting secret stuff on his phone is not right,” adding “He’s acting like he’s above the law—and that shows an amateur person.”
Tangent
Trump, so far, has stood behind Hegseth, telling reporters Monday “he’s doing a great job” and calling the reporting on Hegseth’s Signal chats “a waste of time.”
Key Background
Hegseth sent his brother, wife and lawyer flight schedules for the U.S. fighter jets set to attack the Houthi rebels in Yemen on March 15, similar to what he sent the group chat that included Goldberg and other government officials. That group chat was created by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who inadvertently added Goldberg, but Hegseth created the chat group that included his family members, according to The Times sources. In the first chat, Hegseth shared a detailed timeline for the attack strategy, including timing of when “THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP,” he wrote in one message. It’s unclear if he included the same specifics in second chat. Hegseth’s lawyer Tim Parlatore and his brother Phil both work in the Pentagon: Parlatore is a Navy commander in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps and Phil Hegseth is a liaison to the Department of Homeland Security and senior adviser to Hegseth. In addition to the Signal leaks, Hegseth has been hit with allegations of mismanagement that have led to an exodus of top staffers. Despite Hegseth’s allegations that Selnick, Caldwell and Carroll may have been involved in leaks, the trio has claimed they’re unsure why they were terminated. Former Defense Department spokesperson John Ullyot, who resigned last week, also accused Hegseth of overseeing a “month from hell” and “endless drama” at the agency in a Sunday Politico op-ed urging Trump to fire him.
Further Reading
Hegseth Blasts Second Signal Leak As ‘Anonymous Smears From Disgruntled Former Employees’ (Forbes)
Top Hesgeth Advisor Placed On Leave Related To Alleged Leak: What We Know (Forbes)
Signal Chat Leak: Trump Baselessly Suggests App ‘Defective’ (Forbes)
