Pentagon chief discussed strikes on Houthis with family in Signal family chat
This time, Pete Hegset shared secret information not with journalists, but with his own brother and wife.
This time, Pete Hegset shared secret information not with journalists, but with his own brother and wife.
The Signal group chat saga continues. Several anonymous sources told the New York Times that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth shared information about airstrikes on Yemeni Houthis with his family. In addition to his wife Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, and brother Phil, the group chat also includes the Pentagon chief's personal lawyer Tim Parlatore and about a dozen other people from Hegseth's personal circle.
According to sources, the chat was called "Defense | Team Huddle" and, unlike the chat that mistakenly included a journalist from The Atlantic, the new one was created by Hegseth himself. National Security Advisor Mike Walz took responsibility for the previous incident, which allowed Hegseth to soften the blow and remain head of the Pentagon despite calls from the American establishment to fire him.
The group also reportedly included two senior advisers to Hegseth, Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick. They were charged with leaking unauthorized information and fired on April 15. Officials later said they were fired for defamation.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Hegseth was accompanied by his wife to meetings with foreign military officials to discuss classified information. Jennifer Hegseth was present at the talks with the British Defense Minister in early March, during which the US decision to stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine was discussed.
Earlier, US officials blamed the iPhone voice assistant Siri for accidentally adding The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a secret chat. Then they hung all the dogs on Mike Walz. Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike generally ridiculed the military group chat leak, and ironically urged people to use Signal.
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