US defense chief leaked classified attack plans on signal
The US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, disclosed details of a March attack on Iran-linked Houthi rebels in Yemen not only in one group chat on the Signal messenger, but in a second group as well. This second group included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer, reported "The New York Times" on Sunday.
According to "The New York Times," Hegseth shared details of the attack not just in one, but in two Signal chats. In March, information about the first chat was revealed by "The Atlantic" magazine. The editor-in-chief of the magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to it.
This time, the report refers to the second chat, to which individuals close to the US Secretary of Defense had access: his wife, brother, and personal lawyer. His wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News anchor, does not work at the Pentagon and lacks clearance to access confidential documents. On the other hand, his brother, Phil Hegseth, serves as a liaison for the Department of Homeland Security at the Pentagon. Also in the group was his lawyer, Tim Parlatore, who is an official in the military prosecutor's office.
"NYT" notes that none of these individuals had a justified need to receive such information.
"NYT," citing four sources with knowledge of the chat, reported that the second conversation also discussed details of the airstrike schedules.
According to one of "The Times'" sources, just a day or two before sending the messages, Hegseth was warned not to share classified information on the Signal messenger.
"The Wall Street Journal" also claims that Hegseth's wife participated in confidential meetings with foreign military counterparts.
They planned an attack on Yemen. A journalist was accidentally added to the group
"The Atlantic" published the entire record of the Signal chat between high-ranking national security officials under Donald Trump in March, which showed that Hegseth provided the exact timing for the fighter jets' take-off and bomb drops before the US military launched the attack on Yemeni Houthis.
To recall, Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of "The Atlantic," who was accidentally added to the first chat, revealed that he was informed about the plans for the attack.
Goldberg pointed out in the report that certain details, if accessed by a hostile party, had the potential to endanger U.S. soldiers and intelligence operatives.
Initially, Goldberg and his editorial team did not disclose sensitive fragments. They decided to publish the entire conversation after President Trump and other participants in the group chat declared on Tuesday that none of the messages were classified and did not contain "war plans," as stated in the initial "The Atlantic" headline.
Hegseth strongly denies. Did Trump know nothing?
The head of the Pentagon denied reports that he had sent attack plans on Houthi militants in Yemen during a group discussion on Signal. Earlier, the authenticity of the messages revealed by "The Atlantic" was confirmed by a National Security Council spokesperson.
It turns out that Trump was apparently unaware of this situation, at least according to his claims. "Well it [the leak] couldn’t have been very effective because the attack was very effective… I don’t know anything about it, you’re telling me about it for the first time," Donald Trump told reporters.
