In yet another desperate attempt to undermine President Trump’s administration, The New York Times published a baseless report accusing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of leaking sensitive Yemen strike details in a private Signal chat.
The Pentagon has swiftly and forcefully denied these allegations, with Chief Spokesman Sean Parnell labeling the story as “fake news” driven by disgruntled former employees with clear motives to sabotage Hegseth and Trump’s agenda.
This latest attack comes on the heels of the firing of three former Pentagon officials—Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll—accused of leaking unauthorized information.
The Times claims Hegseth shared details of a March 15 Yemen strike in a Signal group chat named “Defense | Team Huddle,” which included his wife, Jennifer, his brother, Phil, and his personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore.
The article further alleges that Hegseth shared similar details in another chat that mistakenly included The Atlantic’s editor, Jeffrey Goldberg.
These accusations, sourced from four anonymous individuals, lack any concrete evidence and reek of political vendetta.
The New York Times reported:
Unlike the chat in which The Atlantic was mistakenly included, the newly revealed one was created by Mr. Hegseth. It included his wife and about a dozen other people from his personal and professional inner circle in January, before his confirmation as defense secretary, and was named “Defense | Team Huddle,” the people familiar with the chat said. He used his private phone, rather than his government one, to access the Signal chat.
The continued inclusion following Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation of his wife, brother and personal lawyer, none of whom had any apparent reason to be briefed on operational details of a military operation as it was getting underway, is sure to raise further questions about his adherence to security protocols.
[…]
Mr. Hegseth created the separate Signal group initially as a forum for discussing routine administrative or scheduling information, two of the people familiar with the chat said. The people said Mr. Hegseth typically did not use the chat to discuss sensitive military operations and said it did not include other cabinet-level officials.
Mr. Hegseth shared information about the Yemen strikes in the “Defense | Team Huddle” chat at roughly the same time he was putting the same details in the other Signal chat group that included senior U.S. officials and The Atlantic, the people familiar with Mr. Hegseth’s chat group said.
[…]
In the case of Mr. Hegseth’s Signal group, a U.S. official declined to comment on whether Mr. Hegseth shared detailed targeting information but maintained that there was no national security breach.
But according to the Pentagon, the entire narrative is nothing more than a politically motivated smear campaign aimed at derailing the Trump administration’s bold military leadership and undermining Secretary Hegseth’s credibility as he continues to clean house at the Department of Defense.
Sean Parnell, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Chief Pentagon Spokesman, slammed the Times article in a blistering 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 garbage — are enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article.
They relied only on the words of people who were fired this week and appear to have a motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President’s agenda.
There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story. What is true is that the Office of the Secretary of Defense is continuing to become stronger and more efficient in executing President Trump’s agenda.
We’ve already achieved so much for the American warfighter, and will never back down.”
Following the Times’ latest hit piece, the Democrat Party officially called for Hegseth to resign. The verified Democrat Party account on X posted bluntly:
“@PeteHegseth needs to go.”
In classic Hegseth fashion, the Secretary responded without hesitation:
“Your agenda is illegals, trans & DEI — all of which are no longer allowed @ DoD.”
Your agenda is illegals, trans & DEI — all of which are no longer allowed @ DoD.
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) April 21, 2025
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