Hegseth leaked secret war plan – Trump's words
Pete Hegseth
Ex-employee: Difficult for Hegseth to stay
Hegseth leaked secret war plan – Trump's words
Nora Fernstedt
Updated 18.16 | Published 15.46
Hegseth is the Secretary of Defense in Trump's government. Photo: Matias Delacroix / AP
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is accused of sharing attack plans in Yemen with his family.
A former Pentagon official is now warning about Hegseth's future.
"It's hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth staying in his position much longer," he writes in Politico.
But Trump is backing his minister.
A new Signal leak has shaken the White House.
It concerns Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is now facing charges after he, according to sources to the New York Times, shared classified information.
The Information he shared with his family includes information about US attack plans against the Houthi rebels in Yemen and information about flight schedules for the F/A-18 fighter jets that were to be used.
The information is said to have been shared on March 15, which was the same day that journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally invited to a secret chat group where upcoming attacks against the Houthi rebels in Yemen were discussed.
Now John Ullyot, the former top Pentagon spokesman, who voluntarily left last week, says that it will be difficult for Hegseth to retain his role.
“It is difficult to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his position for much longer,” he writes in an opinion piece in Politico.
It was in a chat group on the Signal app that he shared secret information with his family. Photo: Magnus Lejhall/TT
“Complete meltdown”
In the article, he describes the Pentagon as being in “total chaos” under Hegseth’s leadership. In recent weeks, several of Hegseth’s closest associates have been fired and several leaks and lies have come from the department.
On Friday, several employees were fired from the Pentagon and Ullyot, who still supports President Donald Trump, says that the internal battles have become increasingly public in recent weeks.
"The past month at the Pentagon has been a complete meltdown and it's starting to become a real problem for the Trump administration," Ullyot writes in an op-ed in Politico.
Trump backs Hegseth
But President Donald Trump still stands behind Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the new chat scandal.
This is stated in a statement by the White House.
"No classified information was shared," the statement says, which also highlights that Trump continues to have strong confidence in Hegseth.
Hegseth denies: Smearing
And the Defense Secretary himself completely denies the new allegations. Instead, he accuses the media of smearing.
- This is what the media does. They use anonymous sources who are former employees and then they try to smear people and destroy their reputations, he told reporters outside the White House, according to the AFP news agency.
- But it won't work on me, Hegseth continued, adding that it "doesn't matter what the old media does."
John Ullyot, former top Pentagon spokesman, believes Hegseth will have to resign from his post after the second signals scandal.
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