WASHINGTON, D.C.. April 20, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reported to have shared sensitive military planning information over a private Signal group chat — this time with his wife, brother, and personal attorney — according to a New York Times report published Saturday evening and confirmed by CNN.
The information, described by sources familiar with the chat, included flight schedules for F/A-18 Hornet jets ahead of a March 15 airstrike targeting Houthi forces in Yemen. The messages were sent from Hegseth’s personal phone, in a group that included his wife Jennifer, a former Fox News producer; his brother Phil, a Pentagon employee; and his personal attorney Tim Parlatore, who also works at the Defense Department.
It is unclear whether all members of the group had the required security clearances to receive such information, The Times reported.
The disclosure is separate from a previously reported incident involving another Signal chat, in which Hegseth — or a member of his team — mistakenly included the editor of The Atlantic while discussing similar operational plans. That chat is currently under investigation by the Defense Department’s acting inspector general.
According to The Times, the second Signal group had originally been set up during Hegseth’s confirmation process as a way for close allies to coordinate. But Hegseth continued using the chat after being sworn in, at times sharing sensitive operational updates with individuals outside the formal chain of command.
The new revelation comes amid growing criticism of Hegseth’s leadership from within his own ranks. His former press secretary, John Ullyot, and three senior officials dismissed by Hegseth last week — Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll — have publicly voiced concerns about internal dysfunction and poor judgment at the Pentagon.
“It’s been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon,” Ullyot said in a statement obtained by CNN. “From leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings, the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership.”
Neither Hegseth nor the Pentagon has issued a formal response to the latest reporting.
