A second private Signal group chat involving Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly surfaced, revealing that he shared sensitive details about a military strike in Yemen with members of his family and personal legal team.
What Happened: Hegseth shared classified information regarding the March 15 strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen through a private Signal group chat that included his wife, Jennifer, his brother, Phil, and his personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, reported the New York Times, citing four people with knowledge of the chat.
The information, which included flight schedules for F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets targeting the Houthis, was shared within this private group in parallel to a separate chat that inadvertently included The Atlantic’s editor, Jeffrey Goldberg.
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The details shared with his circle mirror the attack plans already disclosed in the first, more official Signal chat that involved senior national security officials.
The existence of this second chat, which was previously unreported, has raised further questions about Hegseth’s handling of classified materials.
After the publication’s story went live, Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, took to X, formerly Twitter, and said, “Another day, another old story.”
Why It’s Important: The second “Defense/Team Huddle” Signal group included roughly a dozen of Hegseth’s senior aides, such as his chief of staff, Joe Kasper, and Parnell.
Also in the chat were Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick, two senior advisers who were dismissed last week amid accusations of leaking unauthorized information.
Jennifer Hegseth, formerly a Fox News producer and not affiliated with the Defense Department, has previously accompanied her husband on overseas trips and faced scrutiny for attending high-level meetings with foreign officials.
On Sunday, another former Defense Department official, John Ullyot, published an opinion piece in Politico criticizing the department’s current state under Hegseth and calling on President Donald Trump to consider replacing him.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
