A Pentagon spokesman asserts the NYT is attempting to revive “Signalgate” to tarnish the reputation of the US defense secretary.
The Pentagon has refuted a New York Times (NYT) story alleging that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive details about US strikes against Houthi fighters in Yemen with his wife and brother through a private Signal messaging app chat.
Hegseth was a central figure in the ‘Signalgate’ controversy, which began in late March after The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, gained access to a Signal group chat where senior officials from President Donald Trump’s administration discussed the Yemen strikes.
The NYT reported on Sunday that the defense secretary maintained a second private chat group on the app, including his wife, Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth, his brother, his lawyer, and about a dozen other close associates. According to the paper’s sources, Hegseth posted flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets involved in the Houthi strikes in both groups on March 18.
On Monday, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell accused the NYT on X of trying to resurrect the ‘Signalgate’ story.
He stated that the “Trump-hating media” remains fixated on destroying anyone loyal to President Trump’s agenda.
The spokesman insisted that “the New York Times – and all other Fake News outlets that echo their claims – are eagerly using the complaints of disgruntled former employees as the only sources for their article.”
Parnell added that “They relied solely on the accounts of individuals who were recently terminated and appear to have an agenda to undermine the Secretary and the President.”
He emphasized that “no classified information was shared in any Signal chat, despite their attempts to frame the story otherwise.”
Following the NYT report, senior Democratic Party members called for Hegseth’s resignation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on X that “we continue to learn how Pete Hegseth endangered lives. Trump remains too weak to fire him. Pete Hegseth must be fired.”
Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois questioned: “How many times does Pete Hegseth need to leak classified intelligence before Donald Trump and Republicans realize that he is not only a f***ing liar, he is a threat to our national security?”
Democrats made similar demands when the ‘Signalgate’ scandal initially surfaced, but Trump declined to fire Hegseth or National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who had mistakenly added Goldberg to the Signal group chat. “I do not fire people based on fake news and witch hunts,” Trump said.