Signalgate 2.0: US defence chief shared Yemen strike secrets with wife and lawyer, says report

In yet another damaging revelation for the Trump administration, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly shared classified details of American military operations in Yemen with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer via a private Signal messaging group, The New York Times reported on Sunday. 

The leak, involving information about the March 15 airstrikes on Houthi rebels, marks the second such incident tied to the same military mission — and has plunged the Pentagon into deeper controversy.

The group chat, reportedly created in January — prior to Hegseth’s official confirmation as defense secretary — was titled “Defence | Team Huddle” and included over a dozen of Hegseth’s personal and professional contacts.

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Among them were his wife Jennifer, a journalist and former Fox News producer, his brother Phil, and attorney Tim Parlatore, who also holds a Pentagon role while continuing to serve as Hegseth’s personal legal counsel.

Sources cited by The New York Times confirmed that Hegseth disclosed specific flight schedules of F/A-18 Hornets involved in the strike campaign. If validated, the unauthorized sharing of such sensitive operational details could pose grave national security risks and potential violations of the Espionage Act or Pentagon communications protocols.

This latest disclosure comes just weeks after an earlier scandal involving another Signal chat, in which National Security Advisor Mike Waltz inadvertently added The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a secure chat group discussing the same Yemen airstrikes. 

That group reportedly included top-level officials such as Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, with some participants joining from international locations. Goldberg’s expose of the accidental inclusion led to widespread backlash.

Hegseth has downplayed the allegations, stating publicly, “Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that.” Gabbard, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, echoed his assertion that “no strategies were exchanged inappropriately.”

In the wake of the leaks, the Pentagon’s Inspector General launched a full-fledged investigation. The Trump administration has so far resisted calls from within the White House for dismissals, even as Vice President JD Vance and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles urged President Trump to fire Waltz to contain the fallout. 

According to Politico, Trump declined the recommendation, quipping privately that he didn’t want to hand an “easy win” to the media.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon placed three senior officials — Deputy Chief of Staff Darin Selnick, Senior Advisor Dan Caldwell, and Colin Carroll — on administrative leave pending investigations. 

The trio, in a joint statement released Sunday, claimed they were being unfairly targeted. “We still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for,” the statement read. “While this experience has been unconscionable, we remain supportive of the Trump-Vance Administration’s mission to make the Pentagon great again and achieve peace through strength.”

The dual incidents have triggered rare bipartisan concern in Congress. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are pressing for greater scrutiny over the use of encrypted messaging apps by top officials and questioning the adequacy of existing internal safeguards.

As the investigation continues, the Trump administration faces mounting pressure to hold senior officials accountable while reassuring allies and the American public that sensitive military operations remain secure. With Hegseth now under renewed scrutiny, the “Signal leaks” saga shows no signs of fading quietly.