US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing renewed scrutiny after reportedly sharing classified information about American airstrikes on Yemen in a private Signal group chat, according to a New York Times report published Sunday.
The chat allegedly included his wife, brother, personal lawyer, and others from his inner circle. This marks the second time Hegseth has been linked to unauthorized disclosures of sensitive military details via the encrypted messaging app.
The Times report claims that the group chat, created by Hegseth before his confirmation as defense secretary, was used to share details of the March 15 strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, including F/A-18 Hornet flight schedules. His wife, Jennifer—reportedly a journalist and former Fox News producer—along with his brother Phil and personal lawyer Tim Parlatore, were said to be among the recipients.
The report follows a previous leak in which journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added to a separate Signal group where officials including Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz discussed the same strike. That incident triggered a Pentagon Inspector General investigation that is still ongoing.
The Pentagon has not yet responded to AFP’s request for comment.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has dismissed calls to fire top officials over the leaks, instead emphasizing the operational success of the March 15 raids. However, three senior Pentagon officials—Darin Selnick, Dan Caldwell, and Colin Carroll—were placed on leave last week amid separate investigations into alleged internal leaks.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the three officials pushed back against the allegations, saying, “We still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for… or if there was even a real investigation.” They reaffirmed their support for the “Trump-Vance Administration’s mission to make the Pentagon great again.”