April 21 (UPI) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used his personal phone last month to share military plans for a then-upcoming attack on the Houthis in Yemen via an open-source encrypted messaging group chat that included his wife and brother, according to reports.
This marks the second use of the Signal smartphone application by Hegseth to share sensitive military information concerning the March 15 attack targeting the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Last month, The Atlantic reported that its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, had mistakenly been added to a Signal group chat in which top Trump administration officials, including Hegseth, discussed sensitive military details of the pending attack.
The second Signal group chat in which similar information about the attack was shared was reported Sunday by The New York Times, CNN and NBC News, each of which cited unidentified sources.
According to the reports, the newly revealed second Signal group chat involved Jennifer Hegseth, Pete Hegseth’s wife and former Fox News producer, who is not a Defense Department employee; as well as the defense secretary’s brother, Phil, and his personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, both of whom work at the Pentagon.
The reports state 13 people were involved in the group chat and that it was created by Hegseth — unlike the previously reported on group chat involving Goldberg, which National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has taken credit for creating.
The Trump administration quickly tried to downplay the latest scandal to disrupt the Department of Defense, with Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, labeling it an “old story” that was “back from the dead.”
“There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story,” he said in a statement.
“What is true is that the Office of the Secretary of Defense is continuing to become stronger and more efficient in the executing of Trump’s agenda.”
Hegseth, a former Fox News host and veteran, was a controversial pick for secretary of defense due to his lack of military leadership experience, financial mismanagement of a veterans nonprofit organization and allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct.
Opponents called for Hegseth’s resignation following the revelation of the initial Signal group, with expectations that those calls will resume following Sunday’s reporting.
“Sec Hegseth recklessly used an unsecured app to discuss war plans with senior officials. Now we know he also shared those sensitive details with his family over Signal, even after being explicitly warned not to,” Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said on X on Sunday.
“Republicans must join me in calling on him to resign immediately.”
Military veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., similarly called on Hegseth on Sunday to “resign in disgrace.
“How many times does Pete Hegseth need to leak classified intelligence before Donald Trump and Republicans understand that he isn’t only a [expletive] liar, he is a treat to our national security?” she asked on X.
“Every day he stays in his job is another day our troops’ lives are endangered by his singular stupidity.”
Last week, three top Pentagon officials were placed on leave of absence over accusations of leaking unauthorized information.
On Sunday, John Ullyot, a Pentagon official who resigned last week, penned an opinion piece for Politico in which he described a department in dysfunction that has become a “major distraction” for Trump — and that Hegseth appears to be close to being removed as secretary.
“The building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership,” Ullyot wrote, adding that the last month has seen “a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon.”
