Topline
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly shared sensitive military information about airstrikes on Yemen with his wife, brother and lawyer in a group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal, marking the latest in a series of controversies—including the firings of high-level staffers—that have engulfed the Pentagon in the past few weeks.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a reenlistment ceremony for Congressional Medal … More
Key Facts
Citing four unnamed sources, the New York Times reported the Signal chat included flight schedules of the fighter jets that struck Houthi targets in Yemen.
The report noted that this was the same information shared on a previously reported Signal group chat that included several top Trump administration officials, and mistakenly added The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.
The chat group, which included Hegseth’s wife, brother and personal lawyer, was reportedly created in January before the former Fox News host was confirmed as Defense Secretary.
The turmoil at the Defense Department was further highlighted in a Politico op-ed written by John Ullyot, the former Pentagon spokesperson who left office last week, which said: “The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon.”
Ullyot, who described himself as a “strong backer” of the Pentagon chief, said it was “hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.”
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What Have Pentagon Officials Said About The Signal Chat Report?
The Pentagon’s top spokesperson, Sean Parnell, who took over the role after Ullyot’s exit, dismissed the New York Times report in a post on X. Parnell accused the newspaper and “all other Fake News” of “enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article.” The spokesperson said the sources cited by the story “appear to have a motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President’s agenda.” Parnell also claimed no classified information was shared on “any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story.”
What Else Did Ullyot Say In His Opinion Piece?
Ullyot’s op-ed addressed last week’s firings of three senior Pentagon staffers—Hegseth’s senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, the deputy Pentagon chief’s top staffer. The former Pentagon spokesperson accused DOD officials working for Hegseth of trying to “smear” the ousted individuals by “claiming they were fired for leaking sensitive information.” Ullyot, however, claimed “none of this” was true, and at least one of the fired staffers had been informed by investigators that he was “about to be cleared officially of any wrongdoing.” The op-ed then blasted Hegseth’s team, saying they had “developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door.”
What Have The Fired Pentagon Officials Said So Far?
On Saturday, Caldwell, Carroll and Selnick issued a joint statement about their ousters on X, saying: “Unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.” The three of them “still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for,” if the investigation was still active, or “if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with.” Despite their firings, the trio said they remained “supportive of the Trump-Vance Administration’s mission to make the Pentagon great again and achieve peace through strength.”
Further Reading
Hegseth Said to Have Shared Attack Details in Second Signal Chat (New York Times)
Former Top Pentagon Spokesperson Details ‘Month From Hell’ Inside the Agency (Politico)
Top Hesgeth Advisor Placed On Leave Related To Alleged Leak: What We Know (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/21/everything-we-know-about-the-new-hegseth-signal-chat-controversy-and-alleged-dysfunction-at-pentagon/