Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell Responds to Establishment Media Relaunching Signal-Gate: ‘Another Old Story’

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell responded to the establishment news media relaunching Signal-gate attacks against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, noting that it is “another old story” that is “back from the dead.”

In a post on X, Parnell sharply criticized the New York Times for a report claiming that Hegseth had discussed military strikes against the Houthis with his wife, brother, and lawyer. Parnell noted that the New York Times, “and all other Fake News” repeating “their garbage,” are relying “only on the words of people who were fired this week.”

“Another day, another old story—back from the dead,” Parnell wrote. “The Trump-hating media continue 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.”

“They relied only 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 continued. “There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story. What is true is that the Office of the Secretary of Defense is continuing to become stronger and more efficient in executing President Trump’s agenda. We’ve already achieved so much for the American warfighter, and will never back down.”

Parnell’s statement comes after “four people with knowledge of the chat” told the New York Times that Hegseth “essentially” shared the “same attack plans” that he had shared with several Trump administration officials in a separate Signal chat, regarding military strikes on the Houthis.

The second Signal chat reportedly included Hegseth’s wife Jennifer, his brother Phil, and lawyer Tim Parlatore. Hegseth’s brother and Parlatore “both have jobs in the Pentagon,” according to the outlet.

Per the outlet, the “information Mr. Hegseth shared” was related to “the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets”:

Some of those people said that the information Mr. Hegseth shared on the Signal chat included the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis i Yemen — essentially the same attack plans that he shared on a separate Signal chat the same day that mistakenly included the editor of The Atlantic.

The signal chat between Hegseth, his wife, brother, and attorney was reportedly “created by Mr. Hegseth,” and reportedly also included “about a dozen other people from” Hegseth’s “personal and professional inner circle in January, before his confirmation as defense secretary, and was named ‘Defense | Team Huddle,'” the sources told the outlet:

Unlike the chat in which The Atlantic was mistakenly included, the newly revealed one was created by Mr. Hegseth. It included his wife and about a dozen other people from his person and professional inner circle in January, before his confirmation as defense secretary, and was named “Defense | Team Huddle,” the people familiar with the chat said. He used his private phone, rather than his government one, to access the Signal chat.

“Two of the people familiar” with the second Signal chat told the outlet Hegseth had created the chat “as a forum for discussing routine administrative or scheduling information.” Among the people included in the group chat were reportedly “about a dozen of Mr. Hegseth’s top aides, including Joe Kasper, Mr. Hegseth’s chief of staff” and Parnell.

CNN also reported that “three people familiar with the chat” told the outlet that Hegseth initially set the second Signal chat “up during the confirmation hearing process as a way for Hegseth’s closest allies to strategize.” However, Hegseth reportedly “continued using the chat, which was on his personal phone”:

But Hegseth continued using the chat, which was on his personal phone, to communicate with them after he was confirmed, the people said. Similar to the first Signal chat, which was revealed by The Atlantic after its editor was mistakenly included by national security adviser Mike Waltz, the military plans Hegseth shared in the second Signal chat were about strikes against the Houthis, the people said.

The reports from CNN and the New York Times come after the Atlantic‘s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal chat titled “Houthi PC small group” by National Security Adviser Michael Waltz. Several members of the Signal chat included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Hegseth, and others.

In an article from March 24, Goldberg shared how several members of the group chat had a back and forth discussion, days before launching military strikes on Houthis in Yemen.

Goldberg notes in his article that on Saturday, March 15, Hegseth shared information with the group that “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing”:

The only person to reply to the update from Hegseth was the person identified as the vice president. “I will say a prayer for victory,” Vance wrote. (Two other users subsequently added prayer emoji.)

According to the lengthy Hegseth text, the first detonations in Yemen would be felt two hours hence, at 1:45 p.m. eastern time. So I waited in my car in a supermarket parking lot. If this Signal chat was real, I reasoned, Houthi targets would soon be bombed. At about 1:55, I checked X and searched Yemen. Explosions were then being heard across Sanaa, the capital city.

In another article, the Atlantic shared the contents of the message that Hegseth had shared in the Signal chat:

At 11:44 a.m. eastern time, Hegseth posted in the chat, in all caps, “TEAM UPDATE:”

The text beneath this began, “TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOME we are a GO for mission launch.” Centcom, or Central Command, is the military’s combatant command for the Middle East. The Hegseth text continues:

• “1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”
• “1345: ‘Trigger Based F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME — also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)”

The article added that Hegseth’s message continued:

• “1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)”
• “1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)”
• “1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts — also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.”
• “MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)”
• “We are currently clean on OPSEC” —that is, operational security.
• “Godspeed to our Warriors.”

Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong reported that several Trump administration officials such as Waltz and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the Atlantic‘s claims that there were “war plans” discussed in the Signal chat, pointing out that no locations or sources were included.

“No locations. No sources & methods,” Waltz wrote in a post on X from March 26. “NO WAR PLANS. Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests.”

“So let’s me get this straight,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X. “The Atlantic released the so-called ‘war plans’ and those ‘plans’ include: No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information. Those are some really shitty war plans.”

In the aftermath of the Signal chat, several Democrats such as Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) have suggested that President Donald Trump should fire Hegseth, if Hegseth does not resign. In an interview with CNN, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) suggested that Hegseth and Waltz “should no longer be in the government.”