By Olivier Acuña Barba •
Published: 21 Apr 2025 • 11:41
• 3 minutes read
Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth remains silent amid a second top-secret leak | Photo: Pete Hegseth on X
The plot thickens and conflicts deepen at the Pentagon, throwing the world’s most powerful military into chaos, as reports of a second highly classified leak prompt calls on Donald Trump to fire its chief, Pete Hegseth.
The US Defence Secretary shared highly sensitive details of a March attack on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis in yet another Signal group that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer, news reports this Monday have confirmed.
The second Signal chat group, initially exposed by The New York Times, included 13 people. In it, details of airstrikes were revealed, said Reuters. Two sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News that Hegseth divulged the top-secret information despite being told not to by an aide.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer posted on X that, “The details keep coming out. We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk. But Trump is still too weak to fire him. Pete Hegseth must be fired.”
Hegseth remains absolutely silent
The confirmation of a second Signal chat group raises further concerns over Hegseth’s use of an unclassified messaging system for highly sensitive security information. Potentially more surprising is that Hegseth has not pronounced a single word, although his press secretary claims it’s fake news spread by the “Trump-hating media.”
This comes at a moment when tensions at the Pentagon have escalated due to the dismissal of three high-level officials as part of an investigation into the first leak on a different Signal chat that included a journalist.
According to Reuters, Hegseth again shared highly sensitive details similar to those revealed in March by The Atlantic, whose Chief Editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, was included by mistake.
Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, has, contrary to regulations governing top-secret information, attended sensitive meetings with foreign military counterparts, and his brother was hired at the Pentagon as a Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior adviser.
White House says it’s another ‘non-story’
After the first leak, Donald Trump dismissed the original leak as “something that can happen”. His deputy press secretary, Anne Kelly, said the second leak is also a “non-story,” suggesting disgruntled former Pentagon employees were 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,” she said. “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.”
Pentagon claims its ‘Fake News’
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, without evidence, released a statement on X reiterating Kelly’s assertions that no classified information had been leaked for a second time.
“The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda. This time, the New York Times — and all other Fake News that repeat their garbage — are enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article,” Parnell added.
Without presenting any evidence to support his accusations, Parnell suggested news outlets have relied on the “words of people who were fired this week and appear to have a motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President’s agenda.”
Parnell was referring to the ousting of four officials from Hegseth’s inner circle as the Pentagon conducts a widespread investigation into information leaks.
Dan Caldwell, a Hegseth aide; Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg; and Darin Selnick, Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff, were escorted out of the Pentagon. They all said they were not told why they were fired.
A top aide who resigned last week, John Ullyot, wrote an Op-Ed for Politico Magazine describing a “month from hell,” “total chaos,” and “turmoil” in the Pentagon that could ultimately lead to Hegseth’s dismissal.
“President Donald Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer,” Ullyot said. He also stated that the four top Pentagon officials who were fired had nothing to do with the leaks.
