Hegseth had a second Signal chat where he shared details of Yemen strike, New York Times reports
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth created another Signal messaging chat that included his wife and brother where he shared similar details of a March military airstrike against Yemen바카라 게임 웹사이트s Houthi militants that were sent in another chain with top Trump administration leaders, The New York Times reported.
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 to The Associated Press.
The second chat on Signal 바카라 게임 웹사이트 which is a commercially available app not authorized to be used to communicate sensitive or classified national defense information 바카라 게임 웹사이트 included 13 people, the person said. They also confirmed the chat was dubbed 바카라 게임 웹사이트Defense ' Team Huddle.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The New York Times reported that the group included Hegseth's wife, Jennifer, who is a former Fox 온라인 바카라 게임 producer, and his brother Phil Hegseth, who was hired at the Pentagon as a Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior adviser. Both have traveled with the defense secretary and attended high-level meetings.
The White House late Sunday dismissed the report as a 바카라 게임 웹사이트non-story," suggesting that disgruntled former Pentagon employees were spreading false claims.
바카라 게임 웹사이트No matter how many times the legacy media tries to resurrect the same non-story, they can바카라 게임 웹사이트t change the fact that no classified information was shared,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said Anna Kelly, White House deputy press secretary. 바카라 게임 웹사이트Recently-fired 바카라 게임 웹사이트leakers바카라 게임 웹사이트 are continuing to misrepresent the truth to soothe their shattered egos and undermine the President바카라 게임 웹사이트s agenda, but the administration will continue to hold them accountable.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The revelation of the additional chat group brought fresh criticism against Hegseth and President Donald Trump's wider administration after it has failed to take action so far against the top national security officials who discussed plans for the military strike in Signal.
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, shows that Hegseth listed weapons systems and a timeline for the attack on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen last month.
The National Security Council and a Pentagon spokesperson did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment about the additional chat group.
Hegseth has previously contended that no classified information or war plans were shared in the chat with the journalist.
The Times reported Sunday that the second chat had the same warplane launch times that the first chat included. Multiple former and current officials have said sharing those operational details before a strike would have certainly been classified and their release could have put pilots in danger.
Hegseth바카라 게임 웹사이트s use of Signal and the sharing of such plans are under investigation by the Defense Department's acting inspector general. It came at the request of the leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee 바카라 게임 웹사이트 Republican Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi and ranking Democratic member Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
Reed urged the IG late Sunday to probe the reported second Signal chat as well, saying that Hegseth 바카라 게임 웹사이트must immediately explain why he reportedly texted classified information that could endanger American servicemembers바카라 게임 웹사이트 lives."
"I have grave concerns about Secretary Hegseth바카라 게임 웹사이트s ability to maintain the trust and confidence of U.S. servicemembers and the Commander-in-Chief," he added.
The new revelations come amid further turmoil at the Pentagon. Four officials in Hegseth바카라 게임 웹사이트s inner circle departed last week as the Pentagon conducts a widespread investigation for information leaks.
Dan Caldwell, a Hegseth aide; Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Hegseth바카라 게임 웹사이트s deputy chief of staff, were escorted out of the Pentagon.
While the three initially had been placed on leave pending the investigation, a joint statement shared by Caldwell on X on Saturday said the three 바카라 게임 웹사이트still 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트leaks바카라 게임 웹사이트 to begin with."
Caldwell was the staff member designated as Hegseth바카라 게임 웹사이트s point person in the Signal chat with Trump Cabinet members.
Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot also announced he was resigning last week, unrelated to the leaks. The Pentagon said, however, that Ullyot was asked to resign.
___
AP writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.