Hegseth named in second Signal chat
Reports: Texts with wife, brother, others included sensitive information
By: Tom VandenBrook
USA Today
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing renewed scrutiny after a new report that he shared the timing of U.S. air strikes on Houthi rebels with his wife and brother on an encrypted commercial messaging app.
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Hegseth already has acknowledged that he had participated in a Signal chat about the March 15 [2025] attack with senior Trump administration officials; that chat is under review by the Pentagon Inspector General for the handling of sensitive information.
..... Late on April 20, Sean tor Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Service Committee, called on the inspector general to expand the review to the latest allegation of spilling sensitive information to family members.
..... The second chat included the same information carried out by pilots on F-18 fighter jets and missiles fired from ships, according to reports in the New York Times and CNN.
..... Current and former military officials have told USA Today that the information was highly sensitive and probably classified. Its interception by adversaries could have had dire implication for those carrying out the attacks.
..... President Donald Trump stands behind Hegseth, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said April 21. [2025]
..... "The president absolutely has confidence in Secretary Hegseth," Leavitt told reporters.
..... And Hegseth dismissed the matter April 21 [2025] when asked about it during the White House Easter Egg Roll, calling the reports "anonymous sources form disgruntled former employees."
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"What a big surprise," he said, "that's a few leasers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out."
..... Sean Parnell, the Pentagon press secretary, repeated Hegseth's statements that no secret information had been discussed in the chat.
..... But Parnell did not deny that the previously unreported Signal text chain existed. It reportedly included Hegseth's wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer.
..... Hegseth's wife has attended sensitive meetings with foreign military counterparts, according to images the Pentagon has publicly posted. During meeting Hegseth had with his British counterpart at the Pentagon in March, 2[205] his wife could be seen sitting behind him.
..... Also on the chat: Hegseth's personal attorney and brother, both of whom work for Hegseth at the Pentagon.
..... "There was no classified information in nay signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story," Parnell said in an April 20 [2025] statement. "What is true is that the Office of the Secretary of Defense is continuing to become stronger and more efficient in executing President Trump's agenda."
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Hegseth recently fired several top aides for allegedly disclosing sensitive information. Parnell blamed them and the "Trump-hating media" for reporting on the chats.
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"They relied only on the words of people who were fired ... and appear to have a motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President's agenda," Parnell said in the April 20 [2025] statement.
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Reed, who voted against Hegseth's nomination for Defense chief, said that he had warned that Hegseth lacks "the experience, competence, and character" to run the Department of Defense. Reed blasted Hegseth for "chaos, dysfunction and mass firings" at the Pentagon.
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Reed called on Hegseth to explain why he had shared sensitive information with his wife and others.
..... "If true, this incident is another troubling example of Secretary Hegseth's reckless disregard for the laws and protocols that every other military service-member is required to follow," Redd said in a statement. "He must immediately explain why he reportedly texted classified information that could endanger American service-members' lives on a commercial app that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer."
..... The latest scrutiny comes days after Dan Caldwell, one of Hegseth's leading advisers, was escorted form the Pentagon after being identified during an investigation into leeks at the Department of Defense.
..... Caldwell played a critical role for Hegseth and was named as the Pentagon;s point person by the secretary in the first Signal chat.
..... "We are incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended," Caldwell posted on X on April 19. [2025] "Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.
..... Following Caldwell's departure, Darin Selnick, who recently became Hegseth's deputy chief of staff, and Collin Carroll, who was chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feingerg, were put on administrative leave and fired on April 18. [2025]
..... John Ullyot, the Pentagon's former top spokesperson who recently steeped down, criticize the Pentagon leader in a Politico Magazine opinion piece published April 20. [2025] Ullyot alleged that Hegseth's team spread unverified claims about the three top officials who were fired, falsely accusing them of leaking sensitive information to media outlets.