Pentagon chief discusses classified information in chat again: this time his wife and brother were added
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth shared detailed plans for a military operation against the Houthis in Yemen in a second Signal group chat. This time, the correspondence took place on his personal phone. His wife, lawyer, and brother took part in the chat, reports CNN.
Photo: Shutterstock
The chat was created during a turbulent confirmation hearing process candidatures Hegseth to lead the Pentagon so his closest allies could strategize. But Hegseth continued to use the chat room, which included more than a dozen people, to communicate after he was confirmed.
Hegseth’s brother Phil and his lawyer Tim Parlatore work for the Defense Department. But his wife, Jennifer, does not. Despite this, Hegseth regularly brought her to meetings with foreign leaders. It’s unclear whether all participants in the second Signal chat had security clearances.
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Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said "there was no classified information in any Signal chat."
Ongoing Disorder at the Pentagon
Let us recall that this is already the second incident with a leak of classified information from the Pentagon. In March, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine was accidentally added to a secret chat of the private Signal app, in which top US officials discussed military strikes in Yemen.
Last week, Hegseth fired his press secretary, John Ullyot, and three senior officials. Those fired included his top adviser, Dan Caldwell; his deputy chief of staff, Darin Selnick; and Colin Carroll, who was the deputy defense secretary's chief of staff.
Following media reports about the dubious success of the massive military campaign against the Houthis, Hegseth began to lose his temper. According to sources, he suspected that senior military officials, as well as some of his closest advisers, were leaking information to undermine his authority.
At one point, Hegseth even called for an FBI investigation into the leaks. But there is already an active inspector general investigation focused on Hegseth.
Caldwell, Selnick and Carroll expect to be questioned as part of the investigation, but they deny leaking information.
The unrest comes as the Pentagon is conducting a major military operation in the Middle East against the Houthis, shifting assets to the region in the event of a wider war between Israel and Iran and moving troops and equipment to the southern border.
“Unfortunately, after a terrible month, the Pentagon is no longer focused on combat. It’s focused on endless drama,” Ullyot said. “Even ardent Hegseth supporters like me have to admit: The last month has been a full-scale meltdown at the Pentagon — and that’s becoming a real problem for the administration.”
Hegseth, for his part, has yet to comment on the firings or the turmoil in his office and has avoided the media. Reporters were invited to cover an event at the Pentagon on April 17, but Hegseth did not show up. He sent an aide in his place.
As ForumDaily wrote earlier:
- Journalist accidentally added to a secret chat of American officials, where they discussed the attack on Yemen.
- It soon became clear that officials Trump created at least 20 chats, where they discussed classified information and international politics.
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