FNPrime
April 25, 2025 | Monday
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his wife Jennifer Rauchet walk through Statuary Hall before President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights.
On April 16, 2025, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted an arrival ceremony for El Salvador Defense Minister Rene Merino Monroy at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno Purchase Licensing Rights.
WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth communicated specifics of a March raid on Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis in a chat group with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The revelations of a second Signal chat raise more questions about Hegseth's use of an unclassified messaging system to share highly sensitive security details, and they come at a particularly sensitive time for him, with senior officials removed from the Pentagon last week as part of an internal leak probe.
In the second chat, Hegseth shared details of the attack, which were similar to those revealed last month by The Atlantic magazine after its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally included in a separate chat on the Signal app, in an embarrassing incident involving all of President Donald Trump's most senior national security officials.
The individual familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stated that the second chat, which comprised around a dozen people, was set up during his confirmation process to discuss administrative concerns rather than actual military preparation.
According to the insider, the communication included details about the air attack schedule.
In the second chat, Hegseth shared details of the attack, which were similar to those revealed last month by The Atlantic magazine after its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally included in a separate chat on the Signal app, in an embarrassing incident involving all of President Donald Trump's most senior national security officials.
The individual familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stated that the second chat, which comprised around a dozen people, was set up during his confirmation process to discuss administrative concerns rather than actual military preparation.
According to the insider, the communication included details about the air attack schedule.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated that "recently fired 'leakers' continue to misrepresent the truth to heal their shattered egos and harm the President's objectives."
TUMULTURAL MOMENT FOR HEGSETH
Democratic legislators stated Hegseth could no longer continue in his position.
"We continue to learn how Pete Hegseth endangered lives," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a post to X. "But Trump is still too weak to remove him. Pete Hegseth should be sacked.
Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who was severely injured in combat in 2004, stated that Hegseth "must retire in disgrace."
Following the recent developments, a Pentagon official questioned how Hegseth could continue to work.
The latest disclosure comes just days after Dan Caldwell, one of Hegseth's top aides, was taken from the Pentagon after being identified during an inquiry into leaks at the Department of Defense.
Although Caldwell is not as well-known as other senior Pentagon officials, he has played an important role for Hegseth and was chosen the Pentagon's point of contact by the Secretary during the first Signal chat.
"We are profoundly saddened by the way our time at the Department of Defense ended," Caldwell wrote on X on Saturday. "Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with unfounded accusations on our way out the door."
Following Caldwell's departure, Darin Selnick, Hegseth's deputy chief of staff, and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, were placed on administrative leave and sacked on Friday.
0 Comments