Trump backs defense secretary after reports of second Signal chat leak

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has backed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after reports that military attack details were shared in a group chat that included Hegseth's wife, brother, and personal lawyer.

The controversy comes a month after a journalist was added to a Signal group chat in which US cabinet officials, including Hegseth, discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In the second Signal chat, Hegseth shared information about air strikes against Yemen, the BBC's US news partner CBS confirmed, citing sources familiar with the messages.

"Pete's doing a great job," Trump told reporters on Monday. "Everybody's happy with him."

White House officials have played down reports of military plans being shared in a second Signal group chat, but have not denied it.

Trump told reporters he has "great confidence" in his defense secretary.

"Are you bringing up Signal again? I thought they gave that up two weeks ago. It's the same old stuff from the media," he said. "Try finding something new," he said.

Trump said the source of the story "sounds like disgruntled employees", an idea also floated by Hegseth earlier on Monday when he claimed the news media was "full of hoaxsters" who "try to slash and burn people".

Hegseth did not directly respond to reports of a second Signal chat, which were initially covered by the New York Times.

In a statement to the newspaper, the White House said no classified information was shared.

The messages in the second chat, sent on 15 March, included flight schedules for American F/A-18 Hornets carrying out strikes on Houthi targets.

Hegseth's wife, Jennifer Rauchet, is a former Fox News producer and holds no official position within the Pentagon. Hegseth has previously been criticised for reportedly including his wife in meetings with foreign leaders.

His brother, Phil, and personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, both hold positions at the Department of Defense. But it is not clear why any of the three would require advanced warnings of sensitive US strike plans.

Unlike the first Signal group, the second one — called "Defense | Team Huddle" — was created by Hegseth, according to the New York Times. But it too appeared to share details of military operations against Yemen.

The existence of the earlier Signal group was revealed by Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of the Atlantic magazine, who was accidentally included in it by Mike Waltz, Trump's national security adviser.

Although the White House has also denied that classified information was discussed in the first group, Hegseth's critics — including former US defense officials — have said such discussions could jeopardise US military personnel.

Signal uses end-to-end encryption, meaning only a message's sender and recipients can view its contents. Despite this high level of security, experts say there are still ways for the information to be viewed or shared with the wrong people, which is why classified communications normally take place in secure, government-controlled locations rather than on private devices.

The second Signal chat surfaced as controversy swirls around the head of the Pentagon, who this year is controlling a budget of $892bn (£670bn).

Hegseth last week fired three top officials for an "unauthorised disclosure" — an accusation the officials said was "baseless".

In a testy exchange outside the White House ahead of an annual Easter event, Hegseth appeared to attribute the latest story to the officials he fired.

"What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out," he said.

Hegseth criticized the media and denounced the reports. He also said he has spoken to the president and that they were "on the same page all the way".

In an op-ed for Politico magazine published on Sunday, John Ullyot, the top Pentagon spokesperson who resigned last week, wrote that the department was in "total chaos".

He added: "The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership."

Ullyot said it was not true that the three fired officials were leaking information and wrote: "Unfortunately, Hegseth's team has developed a habit of spreading flat-out, easily debunked falsehoods anonymously about their colleagues on their way out the door."

However, in a statement on X, Sean Parnell, current chief spokesman for the Pentagon, said the "Trump-hating media" was "destroying anyone committed to President Trump's agenda".

He echoed the White House by saying that "there was no classified information in any Signal chat".

Washington says its strikes in Yemen are punishment for Houthi attacks on cargo vessels transiting through the Red Sea, a critical waterway for international trade.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted dozens of merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, saying they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza . They have sunk two vessels, seized a third, and killed four crew members.

US air strikes on an oil terminal in north-western Yemen this week killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry. — BBC