Key Points
- In March, Pete Hegseth shared sensitive details in a Signal chat that accidentally included a journalist.
- The messaging chain was set up by national security adviser Mike Waltz.
- The New York Times reported Hegseth shared similar details in a chat that included his wife and brother.
United States defence secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly created a second Signal messaging chat that included his wife and brother where he shared similar details of a March military airstrike against Yemen’s Houthi militants that were sent in another chain with top Trump administration leaders.
The New York Times first reported on the alleged second chat, and a person familiar with the contents and those who received the messages, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, confirmed the second chat’s existence to the Associated Press.
The second chat on Signal — which is a commercially available app not authorised to be used to communicate sensitive or classified national defence information — included 13 people, the person said.
The New York Times reported the group included Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, and his brother Phil Hegseth, who was hired at the Pentagon as a homeland security department liaison and senior adviser.
Both have been travelling with the defence secretary and attending high-level meetings.
The revelation of the additional chat group brought fresh criticism against Hegseth and US President Donald Trump’s wider administration.
That administration has so far failed to take action against the top national security officials who discussed plans for the military strike in Signal.
“The details keep coming out. We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk. But Trump is still too weak to fire him,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer posted on X. “Pete Hegseth must be fired.”
Trump, Hegseth dismiss allegations
Hegseth has dismissed the fresh allegations, blaming “disgruntled former employees” for the reports.
“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 said at the White House.
“Not going to work with me,” he said.
“Anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn’t matter.”
Hegseth is facing increasing criticism, with three former staffers penning a statement decrying their dismissals and his own former Pentagon press secretary all but calling on him to be fired.
But the White House has backed him, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying “the president absolutely has confidence in Secretary Hegseth. I spoke to him about it this morning, and he stands behind him.”
Trump told reporters himself: “Pete’s doing a great job. Everybody’s happy with him.”
The first chat, set up by national security adviser Mike Waltz, included a number of cabinet members and came to light because Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was added to the group.
The contents of that chat, which The Atlantic published, show Hegseth listing weapons systems and a timeline for the attack on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen last month.
Following the publication of the messages, Democratic senators over the leaks.
At the time, the White House downplayed the idea that Hegseth or others would lose their jobs, saying Trump retained confidence in them.
The existence of the first Signal chat came to light after journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to it. Source: Getty / Tasos Katopodis
Four officials in Hegseth’s inner circle departed last week, as the Pentagon conducts a widespread investigation into information leaks.
Dan Caldwell, a Hegseth aide, Colin Carroll, chief of staff to deputy defence secretary Stephen Feinberg, and Darin Selnick, Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff, were escorted out of the Pentagon.
While the three were initially placed on leave pending the investigation, a joint statement shared by Caldwell on X said the three “still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with”.
Caldwell was the staff member designated as Hegseth’s primary point of contact in the Signal chat with Trump cabinet members.
Former Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot also announced his resignation last week, unrelated to the leaks. The Pentagon, however, said Ullyot was asked to resign.
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