Hegseth shared Yemen war plans in 2nd Signal chat — reports

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive information about a March attack on Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis in a group chat on the messaging app Signal that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, sources privy to the matter told US media.

The New York Times newspaper and broadcaster CNN reported on Sunday that Hegseth posted information about the attack to a second Signal group.

The group on Signal, a commercially available app not authorized for use in communicating sensitive or classified national defense information, included 13 people, the Associated Press reported. 

Last month, it was revealed that in a separate Signal chat, Hegseth shared operational information regarding an attack on Houthis in Yemen in a group that had mistakenly included The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief. That chat was created by national security adviser Mike Waltz.

The incident prompted investigations into US President Donald Trump's top security officials, causing much embarrassment for his administration.

Pentagon dismisses reports

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell accused The New York Times of being "Trump-hating media."

"There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write the story," he said, without providing further specifics.

"The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump's agenda. …We've already achieved so much for the American warfighter, and will never back down," Parnell said in a statement on X.

Hegseth and Trump slam 'fake news'

"This is what the media does," Hegseth himself claimed later on Monday. "They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations. [It's] not going to work with me."

President Trump has also stood by Hegseth, saying "he's doing a great job" and dismissing the reports as "just fake news."

He also appeared to suggest that the mere passage of time made Hegseth's alleged malpractice less serious, asking reporters: "Are you bringing up Signal again? I thought they gave that up two weeks ago. It's all the same old stuff. That's an old one. Try finding something new."

Trump also appeared to blame recently dismissed Pentagon aides for the reports.

"I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees," he said. "You know, he was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that's what he's doing. So you don't always have friends when you do that."

Asked whether he still had confidence in Hegseth amid the latest revelations, Trump rambled: "Ask the Houthis how he's doing. Ask the Houthis how much dysfunction ... There is none."

What do we know about the second leak?

In the second leak, which includes his brother and wife, Hegseth has shared details of the same March attack in Yemen, according to The New York Times.

The information shared "included the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen," the newspaper reported.

According to the paper, unlike when Goldberg was inadvertently added, this time the group chat was created by Hegseth, and he added the group members.

The group was set up during Hegseth's confirmation hearing as a way for his allies to strategize, US broadcaster CNN reported.

"It included his wife and about a dozen other people from his personal and professional inner circle in January, before his confirmation as defense secretary," the Times reported, citing unnamed sources.

The second leak raises more questions given the affiliations of Hegseth's wife and brother.

Hegseth's wife is a former Fox News producer and has been seen attending sensitive meetings. His brother is a Department of Homeland Security liaison to the Pentagon.

It is unclear why either would need information regarding the attack in Yemen.

Leading Senate opposition Democrat Chuck Schumer posted to X that Hegseth had put lives at risk.

"The details keep coming out. We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk," Schumer posted. "But Trump is still too weak to fire him. Pete Hegseth must be fired."

Schumer wasn't the only Democrat critical of Hegseth.

"Every day he stays in his job is another day our troops' lives are endangered by his singular stupidity," said combat veteran and Senator Tammy Duckworth.

Edited by Sean Sinico