U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared information on airstrike operations targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels with family and acquaintances through the civilian messenger app "Signal."
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 20th (local time), Hegseth sent details of the airstrike operation, including the launch schedule of F/A-18 fighter jets, to a Signal app chat room using his personal cell phone just before the airstrike on Yemen on the 15th of last month. This chat room was created by Hegseth himself in January before his ministerial confirmation and included about 12 people, including his wife, Jennifer Hegseth, his brother, and a personal lawyer.
The chat room named "Defense | Team Huddle" is separate from the chat room of senior government officials that became the starting point of the so-called "Signal Gate." The NYT reported that "the attack plan that Hegseth accidentally shared with another Signal chat room, including the editor of The Atlantic, was essentially the same content."
Although Hegseth created the Signal chat room for coordinating his schedule and everyday communication, it appears he later shared real-time military information requiring confidentiality, including the airstrike against Yemen's Houthi rebels. Media outlets in the U.S. reported that those participating in the conversation were all individuals not qualified to receive briefings related to military operations.
Hegseth's wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, has not held any official government positions but has repeatedly accompanied Hegseth to sensitive meetings with foreign military officials, causing controversy. Another participant in the chat room, Hegseth's personal lawyer, Palatore, was commissioned to the Naval Judge Advocate General's Corps just before the airstrike but reportedly had no official assignments related to the operation at that time.
Acting Inspector General of the Ministry of National Defense, Steven Stevins, is investigating whether the use of the Signal messenger by Secretary Hegseth and others violated management guidelines. Senior adviser to the Secretary Dan Caldwell, Deputy Chief of Staff Darin Selnic, Chief of Staff for Deputy Secretary Steven Feinberg Colin Carroll, and Spokesperson John Elliott from the Public Affairs Office have been dismissed or recommended for resignation.