Topline
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blamed the media and former “disgruntled employees” for new allegations he shared sensitive military information with his wife, brother and lawyer on the encrypted messaging app Signal—though he also did not deny it—marking the latest in a series of controversies engulfing the Pentagon.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a reenlistment ceremony for Congressional Medal … More
Key Facts
“What a big surprise a . . . few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out,” Hegseth told reporters Monday at the White House Easter egg roll, apparently referring to three top staffers—Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll—who were terminated last week after a leak investigation, though the three have said publicly they’re unsure why they were terminated.
Calling the media “a bunch of hoaxers,” Hegseth did not outright deny the report, instead saying, “this is what the media does—they take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations.”
Hegseth was responding to a New York Times report a day earlier in which four unnamed sources alleged he shared in a Signal group chat with his family members and lawyer the flight schedules of the fighter jets that struck Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15, around the same time he also shared the information on the previously reported Signal chat that mistakenly included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.
Hegseth reportedly created the group chat to discuss scheduling in January, before the former Fox News host was confirmed as Defense Secretary, adding his family members and about a dozen others, including Caldwell and Selnick.
Hegseth aides warned him several days before the strikes not to discuss sensitive information via Signal, one unnamed source told The Times, and several urged him not to use his personal phone to discuss work matters on the messaging app.
The Signal controversies are among several that have created a “month from hell” at the Pentagon under Hegseth’s leadership, former Department of Defense spokesperson and longtime Trump backer John Ullyot, who resigned from the agency last week, wrote in a Politico op-ed published Sunday in which he lamented the “endless drama” at the agency and urged Trump to fire Hegseth.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Tangent
Hegseth initially responded to the second Signal leak story by attacking Democrats on X, writing “your agenda is illegals, trans & DEI—all of which are no longer allowed” at the Department of Defense. Hegseth was responding to a post on the account calling for him to be terminated.
Chief Critic
“Every day he stays in his job is another day our troops’ lives are endangered by his singular stupidity,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., an Iraq war veteran, told The New York Times in response to the latest Signal revelations.
What Have Pentagon Officials Said About The Signal Chat Report?
The Pentagon’s top spokesperson, Sean Parnell, who took over the role after Ullyot’s exit, dismissed the New York Times report in a post on X. Parnell accused the newspaper and “all other Fake News” of “enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article.” Parnell also claimed no classified information was shared on “any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.” President Donald Trump “stands strongly behind” Hegseth, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday, adding that Hegseth “is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon,” and alleging “this is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and against the monumental change you are trying to implement.”
What Else Did Ullyot Say In His Opinion Piece?
More firings—and damning stories—out of the Pentagon could be forthcoming, he wrote. Ullyot said “key Pentagon reporters” have been telling sources privately that “even bigger bombshell stories” are “coming this week. Defending Caldwell, Selnick and Carroll, Ullyot said none of them have been given the polygraph tests they were promised as part of the leak probe. He said there’s no proof that Caldwell, Selnick or Carroll leaked information and that Hegseth’s team purposely, and anonymously, spread that storyline to reporters. Ullyot also blasted the handling of the fallout from the first Signal leak story, alleging the public affairs department misadvised Hegseth, who defended himself by insisting “nobody was texting war plans.” The vague denial, Ullyot wrote, essentially invited Goldberg to release the full text of the chat showing Hegseth providing precise times and weaponry for the attacks. Ullyot, who called himself a “longtime backer” of Hegseth and a personal friend, wrote an opinion piece urging the Senate to approve Hegseth when his confirmation seemed to be in jeopardy in December. Ullyot then led the public affairs department for Hegseth’s initial tenure and resigned last week when Hegseth offered him a new position.
What Have The Fired Pentagon Officials Said So Far?
On Saturday, Caldwell, Carroll and Selnick issued a joint statement about their ousters on X, saying: “Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.” The three of them “still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for,” if the investigation was still active, or “if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with.” Despite their firings, the trio said they remained “supportive of the Trump-Vance Administration’s mission to make the Pentagon great again and achieve peace through strength.” The three were fired after Hegseth’s chief of staff Joe Kasper ordered “an investigation into unauthorized disclosures” in the department on March 21, though the details of the alleged leaks have not been made public. Kasper is now considering leaving the agency, The New York Times reported.
Key Background
Hegseth, 44, a former Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran who served stints in Afghanistan and Iraq, is one of Trump’s most controversial nominees and was narrowly confirmed by the Senate in January. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote to approve him after three Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted against him amid accusations of troubling drinking habits and inappropriate behavior toward women, including a sexual assault allegation that was investigated by police in California. Hegseth has denied the sexual assault allegation and said it was a consensual encounter, and he said during his Senate confirmation hearings he would quite drinking if he were appointed. Hegseth—who said previously women shouldn’t serve in combat roles and has derided diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the department—has begun a major overhaul of the department, including eliminating all traces of DEI and laying off up to 8% of its civilian workforce.
What To Watch For
The Pentagon’s acting inspector general, Steven Stebbins, is investigating the initial Signal leak to Goldberg. That Signal group chat, which included Vance, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and more than a dozen other top Trump administration officials, was created by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who admitted to inadvertently including Goldberg. Hegseth provided a detailed timeline of the attacks in the chat, informing the group in one message of when “THE FIRST BOBMS WILL DEFINITELY DROP.” The White House and Department of Defense have insisted no classified information was shared in the chat, but even some Republicans have disputed the narrative, openly breaking with Trump in condemning Hegseth and Waltz for the leak.
Further Reading
Hegseth Said to Have Shared Attack Details in Second Signal Chat (New York Times)
Former Top Pentagon Spokesperson Details ‘Month From Hell’ Inside the Agency (Politico)
Top Hesgeth Advisor Placed On Leave Related To Alleged Leak: What We Know (Forbes)
Read the full article here