Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is under attack once again.
Anonymous sources told The Wall Street Journal that Pete Hegseth brought his wife, Jennifer Hegseth, to two meetings with foreign military officials, during which they discussed sensitive information.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Jennifer Hegseth, a private citizen, was present at a meeting at the Pentagon when Pete Hegseth met with U.K. Secretary of Defense John Healey in early March.
Hegseth’s wife was also present at a meeting last month at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Spouses of high-ranking presidential administration officials usually have a low-level security clearance, at minimum. The Pentagon declined to tell The Wall Street Journal whether Jennifer Hegseth has a clearance.
Additionally, a Defense Secretary can invite guests to meetings with foreign counterparts.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is facing scrutiny over his handling of details of a military strike, brought his wife, a former Fox News producer, to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed, according to multiple people who were present or had knowledge of the discussions.
One of the meetings, a high-level discussion at the Pentagon on March 6 between Hegseth and U.K. Secretary of Defense John Healey, took place at a sensitive moment for the trans-Atlantic alliance, one day after the U.S. said it had cut off military intelligence sharing with Ukraine. The group that met at the Pentagon, which included Adm. Tony Radakin, the head of the U.K.’s armed forces, discussed the U.S. rationale behind that decision, as well as future military collaboration between the two allies, according to people familiar with the meeting.
A secretary can invite anyone to meetings with visiting counterparts, but attendee lists are usually carefully limited to those who need to be there and attendees are typically expected to possess security clearances given the delicate nature of the discussions, according to defense officials and people familiar with the meeting. There is often security near the meeting space to keep away uninvited attendees.
The leaks to The Wall Street Journal come after Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz added The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal chat group where Pete Hegseth discussed successful strikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
Pete Hegseth was blamed for not noticing Jeffrey Goldberg was added to the Signal chat group with other high-level Trump Administration officials.
Hegseth defended the ‘Signalgate’ and said no war plans were discussed in the “Houthi PC small group” chat.
WATCH:
Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth responds to the Atlantic’s coverage of the Signal group chat:
“They even changed the title to ‘attack plans,’ because they know it’s not war plans.”pic.twitter.com/53FnZFHZaU
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) March 26, 2025
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