SDA
21.4.2025 – 15:24
According to the White House, US President Donald Trump is firmly behind Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth came under fire for allegedly sharing military plans with his wife and others in another group chat via the Signal app, according to media reports.
Keystone-SDA
21.04.2025, 15:24
SDA
The New York Times, citing several people familiar with the matter, reported that the politician had shared detailed information about attacks in Yemen in mid-March in the private chat. According to the report, the wife does not work in the Department of Defense.
This is what happens when the entire Pentagon works against you
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in an initial reaction on Foxnews: "The president stands firmly behind Secretary Hegseth, who is doing a phenomenal job at the helm of the Pentagon." She accused disgruntled department employees of trying to discredit Hegseth and lying to the traditional media.
"This is what happens when you have the entire Pentagon working against you and against the monumental change you're trying to implement," Leavitt said. She added that no military secrets had been leaked. The "New York Times" had reported that the flight times of F/A-18 fighter jets in action against the Huthi militia in Yemen had been shared in the chat.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell had previously posted on X that "the Trump-hating media" remains obsessed with destroying anyone who supports US President Donald Trump's agenda. Parnell claimed that the reports about the second group chat were based on complaints from former employees as the only source. According to the media, there had recently been a series of dismissals of senior staff at the Pentagon.
The pressure is mounting
Hegseth is facing new criticism as a result of the media report and the pressure on him is increasing. The minority leader of the Democrats in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, wrote on X: "Pete Hegseth must be fired." Only weeks ago, an affair surrounding a group chat about the imminent attack in Yemen by Hegseth and other high-ranking government representatives, to which a journalist had been inadvertently invited, made waves.
Brother also in the chat
The US broadcaster CNN also reported on the second group chat, citing insiders. Hegseth's brother and his personal lawyer are also said to have been members of the chat – both have jobs at the Pentagon, according to the media reports.
Link to earlier chat affair
The case follows the affair surrounding a secret group chat involving high-ranking members of the government. At the end of March, the US magazine "The Atlantic" made the contents of the chat public after its editor-in-chief was – presumably inadvertently – invited to the Signal group by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. An investigation into this chat is already underway by the internal oversight of the US Department of Defense.
The members of the group chat were the top US national security leaders: in addition to Hegseth, they included Trump's deputy JD Vance, Waltz, the head of the US foreign intelligence service CIA, John Ratcliffe, and the intelligence coordinator Tulsi Gabbard. The chat was about a US military operation against the Huthi militia in Yemen in mid-March. Hegseth provided detailed information about weapons and attack times.
The Pentagon's internal oversight is investigating whether Hegseth improperly shared operational plans for a US military operation against the Houthi militia in Yemen via the commercial app – and whether regulations on confidentiality and the retention of government documents were complied with.
Hegseth is said to have created the second chat himself
According to the New York Times, the second chat that has now come to light is also said to have been about military plans in this context. Hegseth is said to have created the second chat himself. In January, around a dozen members from his personal and professional circle are said to have been part of the Signal group – this is said to have been before Hegseth was sworn in as Secretary of Defense. He is said to have used the chat from his private phone.
USA: US media: Hegseth shared military plans in chat with wife | blue News – bluewin E-Mail
