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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rebuffs new group chat allegations as attempt to 'sabotage' Trump's agenda
By Taylor Penley
Published April 22, 2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back against a New York Times report alleging he had shared sensitive details involving a military airstrike against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in a second Signal message chat that included his wife and brother, telling "Fox & Friends" Tuesday that the controversy is an attempt to "sabotage" President Donald Trump's agenda.
"If you remember… I said no one is texting war plans. I said that because I'm in the bowels of the Pentagon every single day… what was shared over Signal then [during the first leak] and now was informal, unclassified coordinations for media coordination [and] other things," he told co-host Brian Kilmeade.
"At the beginning, it was left-wing reporters at The Atlantic who got hold of it and then wanted to create a problem for the president," he continued.
"That's what it's all about. Trying to get at President Trump and his agenda."
HEGSETH SHARED DETAILS OF YEMEN STRIKES IN SECOND SIGNAL CHAT: REPORT
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on before a luncheon with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Cabinet Room of the White House, in Washington, DC, on April 17, 2025. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP)
Hegseth accused "disgruntled former employees" of "trying to save their a--" by peddling stories, arguing that the mainstream media's focus should instead be on "the decimation of the Houthis, how [the U.S. is] pushing back the Chinese, how we have a new defense area at the southern border."
"That's unfortunate," he said. "It's not what I do. It's not how we operate, so you've got another allegation being pushed again. Not based on how we're operating around here. We're for the war fighters, we're for the president, and none of this is based in reality."
Three top Pentagon officials were placed on administrative leave last week as part of the ongoing Defense Department leak investigation.
Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg, was escorted out of the building last Wednesday, following Dan Caldwell, senior advisor to Hegseth, and Darin Selnick, deputy chief of staff to Hegseth.
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Pentagon employees Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll and Darin Selnick have been placed on leave amid an ongoing leak investigation. (Fox & Friends)
On Friday evening, those three employees were fired, two defense officials confirmed to Fox News Digital.
"If we think you are leaking to the press, that's a very real problem. We take that very seriously at the Pentagon," Hegseth said.
"I'm here to do one job. One job for the president and the American people. Secure the country. America first. Peace through strength. I don't have time for leakers. I don't have time for the hoax press that peddles old stories from disgruntled employees."
Other moves are happening at the Pentagon. Joe Kasper, Hegseth's chief of staff, will be leaving his position for a different role within the department.
Press aide John Ullyot, who also parted ways with the Pentagon, published a scathing opinion piece in Politico Sunday predicting Hegseth would not remain as secretary of defense.
"Anybody that knows John knows why we let him go," Hegseth responded. "We did a lot of favors for John. He did some good work up front. Then he was moved along, and asked to move along. Now, he's misrepresented a lot of things in the press. It's unfortunate. We did right by him. We tried to help. He's spinning it otherwise. It's too bad. It's politics, I guess."
Carroll and Selnick, meanwhile, reportedly plan to sue for wrongful termination.
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Trump defended Hegseth at Monday's White House Easter Egg Roll, telling reporters he's doing a "great job" and calling the New York Times report "fake news."
Fox News' Stephen Sorace and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-rebuffs-new-group-chat-allegations-attempt-sabotage-trumps-agenda