In what appears to be a Signalgate 2.0, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is under fire - or about to be fired – for a second Signal chat group revealing sensitive military plans, this time including his wife, brother, and lawyer.
The chat group, uncovered on Saturday, “shared detailed information about forthcoming strikes in Yemen on March 15th,” according to The New York Times.
On Monday, rumors surfaced that the White House was planning to relieve Hegseth of his high-ranking position as US Secretary of Defense in a new report by NPR, published late afternoon.
But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rebuffed the NPR piece, posting on X that “This @NPR story is total FAKE NEWS based on one anonymous source who clearly has no idea what they are talking about.”
“As the President said this morning, he stands strongly behind @SecDef,” Leavitt wrote.
This @NPR story is total FAKE NEWS based on one anonymous source who clearly has no idea what they are talking about.
undefined Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) April 21, 2025
As the President said this morning, he stands strongly behind @SecDef. https://t.co/5Npig8968v
Leavitt is referring to comments made by President Trump dismissing any premature talk of a "Signalgate 2.0." Defending Hegseth to reporters, Trump declared that there was no dysfunction among his top officials and that the newly appointed Defense Secretary was “Doing a great job. Everybody is happy with him.”
Hegseth also rebuked the media while joining the President and the First Lady at the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll, held on the Great Lawn, attended by thousands on Monday.
“This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations,” Hegseth said on camera, with his children in tow.
Fact or Fiction?
The original Signal chat group, kicking off a firestorm of investigations, was admittedly created by a staffer working for National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to discuss a pending US military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen in March.
In a deja vu of a March 24th disclosure by The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, that he was inadvertently added to the White House Signal group chat discussing the Yemen strike, the newest group chat in question is said to have included wife Jennifer Hegseth, a former Fox News producer, his brother Phil, and his personal lawyer.
Hegseth’s brother and attorney, Tim Parlatore, both happen to work at the Pentagon, although neither in any capacity that would warrant them access to the Houthi strike plans, The Times noted.
The Times, which reportedly spoke to four unnamed people familiar with the matter, stated that the “Defense | Team Huddle” group chat, led by Hegseth, contained sensitive details about the US military operation, including “the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis.”
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, also commented on The Times story as “Fake News,” posting an official statement on X.
“Another day, another old story—back from the dead. The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda,” he wrote.
Labeling the news giant’s sources as “disgruntled former employees… who were fired this week,” Parnell reiterated the White House stance that “There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
undefined Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellATSD) April 21, 2025
4/20/25
STATEMENT:
Another day, another old story—back from the dead. The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda. This time, the New York Times — and all other Fake News that repeat their…
The Signal group chat at the center of the latest controversy was said to have included about a dozen of the Defense Secretary’s top aides, Hegseth’s chief of staff, two Trump senior advisors, as well as the Chief Pentagon spokesperson.
On April 3rd, new allegations that White House national security teams had used the encrypted messaging app to set up at least 20 other chat groups were reported by Washington, DC news outlet Politico. It’s not clear if the "Defense | Team Huddle” was identified as one of those chat groups.
According to The Times, Hegseth had been warned by staff members “to move the work-related matters in the Signal chat to his government phone,” but never did.
The entire Signalgate scandal has raised serious questions about the use of personal devices as a means of secure communication by high-ranking government officials and its impact on national security from a cybersecurity perspective.
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