By TARA COPP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth created one other Sign messaging chat that included his spouse and brother the place he shared related particulars of a March army airstrike towards Yemen’s Houthi militants that have been despatched in one other chain with prime Trump administration leaders, The New York Instances reported.
An individual conversant in the contents and people who acquired the messages, who spoke on situation of anonymity to debate delicate issues, confirmed the second chat to The Related Press.
The second chat on Sign — which is a commercially obtainable app not approved for use to speak delicate or labeled nationwide protection info — included 13 folks, the individual stated. In addition they confirmed the chat was dubbed “Defense ‘ Team Huddle.”
The White Home late Sunday dismissed the report as a “non-story,” suggesting that disgruntled former Pentagon staff have been spreading false claims.
“No matter how many times the legacy media tries to resurrect the same non-story, they can’t change the fact that no classified information was shared,” stated Anna Kelly, White Home deputy press secretary. “Recently-fired ‘leakers’ are continuing to misrepresent the truth to soothe their shattered egos and undermine the President’s agenda, but the administration will continue to hold them accountable.”
The revelation of the extra chat group introduced contemporary criticism towards Hegseth and President Donald Trump’s wider administration after it has didn’t take motion up to now towards the highest nationwide safety officers who mentioned plans for the army strike in Sign.
“The details keep coming out. We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk. But Trump is still too weak to fire him,” Senate Democratic Chief Chuck Schumer posted on X. “Pete Hegseth must be fired.”
The primary chat, arrange by nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz, included quite a lot of Cupboard members and got here to mild as a result of Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was added to the group.
The contents of that chat, which The Atlantic printed, reveals that Hegseth listed weapons techniques and a timeline for the assault on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen final month.
The Nationwide Safety Council and a Pentagon spokesperson didn’t instantly reply to messages looking for remark concerning the extra chat group.
Hegseth has beforehand contended that no labeled info or battle plans have been shared within the chat with the journalist.
The Instances reported Sunday that the second chat had the identical warplane launch occasions that the primary chat included. A number of former and present officers have stated sharing these operational particulars earlier than a strike would have actually been labeled and their launch might have put pilots in peril.
Hegseth’s use of Sign and the sharing of such plans are underneath investigation by the Protection Division’s appearing inspector basic. It got here on the request of the management of the Senate Armed Companies Committee — Republican Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi and rating Democratic member Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
Reed urged the IG late Sunday to probe the reported second Sign chat as effectively, saying that Hegseth “must immediately explain why he reportedly texted classified information that could endanger American servicemembers’ lives.”
“I have grave concerns about Secretary Hegseth’s ability to maintain the trust and confidence of U.S. servicemembers and the Commander-in-Chief,” he added.
The brand new revelations come amid additional turmoil on the Pentagon. 4 officers in Hegseth’s internal circle departed final week because the Pentagon conducts a widespread investigation for info leaks.
Dan Caldwell, a Hegseth aide; Colin Carroll, chief of workers to Deputy Protection Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Hegseth’s deputy chief of workers, have been escorted out of the Pentagon.
Whereas the three initially had been positioned on depart pending the investigation, a joint assertion shared by Caldwell on X on Saturday stated the three “still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with.”
Caldwell was the workers member designated as Hegseth’s level individual within the Sign chat with Trump Cupboard members.
Former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot additionally introduced he was resigning final week, unrelated to the leaks. The Pentagon stated, nonetheless, that Ullyot was requested to resign.
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AP author Michelle L. Value in Washington contributed to this report.
Initially Printed: April 20, 2025 at 7:20 PM EDT
