WASHINGTON, USA – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing significant scrutiny after reports revealed he shared detailed plans for forthcoming military strikes in Yemen on a private Signal group chat.
The New York Times reported on Sunday, April 20, 2025, that Hegseth disclosed flight schedules and attack plans targeting the Houthi group, which he later shared in another messaging group that included senior U.S. officials and a journalist.
The chat, which took place on Saturday, March 15, 2025, reportedly included Hegseth’s wife Jennifer, his brother Phil, and his personal lawyer Tim Parlatore, along with about a dozen of Hegseth’s top aides.
Sources familiar with the incident said that Hegseth was using his personal phone to communicate administrative details about the strikes and shared the same information on both the private Signal group chat and with senior government officials in another group.
The disclosure of sensitive military information raised alarm, especially after the attack plans were also reportedly shared in an unclassified format, despite warnings from Hegseth’s aides about discussing operational details on a platform that, while encrypted, is not regarded as fully secure.
While U.S. officials declined to confirm whether any classified information was shared, they maintained that no national security breach occurred.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell strongly dismissed the allegations, calling them “garbage” and criticizing the media for relying on sources with motives to undermine Hegseth and the administration’s actions.
“Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that,” Hegseth told reporters after the incident came to light.
However, the incident has raised concerns about the handling of sensitive military information, particularly the use of unsecured communication platforms for official business.
The Pentagon’s acting inspector general, Steve Stebbins, announced an investigation into Hegseth’s use of the Signal app to discuss military operations.
The investigation will assess whether Hegseth and other Department of Defense personnel followed proper policies and procedures regarding the use of commercial messaging applications for official business.
