US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shares Yemen strike plan with family: Report | World News
According to the New York Times, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared key information with his wife and brother through a messaging app, including details of a U.S. military air strike against Houthi militants in Yemen in March.
The second chat was conducted on Signal, a commercially available application that was not authorized to share sensitive or classified defense information, including 13 participants. Those familiar with the message and its recipients confirmed the chat with the Associated Press.
They further confirmed that the chat was titled “Defense Forces huddle.”
The group includes Jennifer, the wife of Defense Secretary Hegseth, former Fox News producer Jennifer and his brother Phil Hegseth, who serves as senior adviser to the Department of Homeland Security Liaison and the Pentagon, according to the New York Times.
The revelation of the additional chat team sparked a re-criticism of the broader administration of Defense Secretary Heggs and former President Donald Trump, especially in their inaction against top national security officials discussing military strike plans through signals.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer criticized President Trump, saying that Trump is still too weak to evacuate him from his position even after learning that Pete Hegseth put his life at risk.
“Details keep coming. We’ve been learning how Pete Hegseth puts his life at risk. But Trump is still too weak to fire him, and Pete Hegseth has to be fired,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in an article about X.
Meanwhile, the first chat was created by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, which included several cabinet members. It debuted after Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to the group.
The chat published by the Atlantic Ocean shows that Heggs listed a schedule of weapons systems and attacks on Iran-backed Hotis last month.
A spokesperson for the White House, the National Security Council and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to comments about the additional chat team.
Hegseth had previously argued that there was no classified information or plan of war in chatting with reporters.
(with PTI -AP input)
