Hegseth accused of 2nd Signal chat leak re Yemen
- Thread starter mandrill
- Start date
could this administration be any more incompetent ?
The most incompetent President and his pathetic picks of cabinet staff members. The previous scandal in including an Atlantic Staff was dubbed as a "mistake".
Wonder what will be the excuses to justify this really huge scandal!!
Wonder what will be the excuses to justify this really huge scandal!!
Please the MAGA dum-dums know that Trump is even dumber than they are!
That's why they love him!
Always.
There is always worse that is possible.
That said, Duckworth's comment about Hegseth's "singular stupidity" is on point.
I hear Trump's team made some kind of statement that Trump has absolute faith in Hesgeth, so I assume he will be kicked out shortly. (That's usually one of Trump's tells.)
I don't believe he will because he would be admitting too early in his circus extravaganza that he messed up.
Hegseth spent ‘several thousand dollars’ turning Pentagon room into a make-up studio for his TV spots, report says
battled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth apparently learned something from his days as a presenter on Fox News — the importance of being camera-ready.
Amid reports of infighting and chaos at the Pentagon, and with the secretary under fire for a second breach of operational security, CBS News reports that Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the department’s press briefing room to turn it into a make-up studio.
Citing multiple sources, the network says the project cost several thousand dollars, at a time when Donald Trump’s administration is supposed to be focused on cost-cutting.
A Defense Department spokesperson told CBS News in a statement: “Changes and upgrades to the Pentagon Briefing Room are nothing new and routinely happen during changes in an administration.”
According to a source who spoke to CBS, an in-house construction crew renovated the briefing room’s adjacent green room earlier this year. It previously had minimal furnishings, comprising a table and chairs, a TV, photos of former defense secretaries, and a mirror on the back of the door.
Another source said the table was removed and a new chair and a large mirror with makeup lighting were installed.
The Pentagon spokesperson said the room will be available to senior leaders and VIPs ahead of press engagements and that the new items came from existing inventory, with a new countertop built by facilities staff.
“For this upgrade, we were deliberately conservative and opted for several less expensive, on-hand materiel solutions,” the spokesperson told CBS.
The network reports that, according to multiple sources, the idea for making over the green room came from Tami Radabaugh, the deputy assistant to the secretary for strategic engagement and a former producer for Fox News and for CBS News.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, and Jennifer Hegseth, the defense secretary's wife — also a former Fox producer — expressed approval for the work, one of the sources said.
While Hegseth has not used the briefing room to address or take questions from reporters, it has been used as a set for TV appearances, including a recent interview on Fox & Friends in which he blamed former Pentagon employees and the media for revealing the most recent security breach in which he sent sensitive military information to his wife, brother, and lawyer on a Signal group chat.
Notably, Hegseth did not deny the reports that he shared operational information with his family and close associates about strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Pete Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, approved of the room’s makeover, according to reports. (Getty Images)
It was the second such incident this year after National Security Adviser Michael Waltz accidentally included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, in a Signal group chat of government officials in which Hegseth shared strike times and details of the military operation.
He maintains that he did not share classified information in either case.
Hegseth, a combat veteran, was a morning show co-host on Fox & Friends Weekend before being nominated and confirmed as Trump’s defense secretary — a controversial process amid allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and alcohol issues that he denied.
When speaking about his focus at the Pentagon, he has emphasized making improvements in warfighting abilities and military readiness to “revive the warrior ethos.”
The Independent has always had a global perspective. Built on a firm foundation of superb international reporting and analysis, The Independent now enjoys a reach that was inconceivable when it was launched as an upstart player in the British news industry. For the first time since the end of the Second World War, and across the world, pluralism, reason, a progressive and humanitarian agenda, and internationalism – Independent values – are under threat. Yet we, The Independent, continue to grow.
battled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth apparently learned something from his days as a presenter on Fox News — the importance of being camera-ready.
Amid reports of infighting and chaos at the Pentagon, and with the secretary under fire for a second breach of operational security, CBS News reports that Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the department’s press briefing room to turn it into a make-up studio.
Citing multiple sources, the network says the project cost several thousand dollars, at a time when Donald Trump’s administration is supposed to be focused on cost-cutting.
A Defense Department spokesperson told CBS News in a statement: “Changes and upgrades to the Pentagon Briefing Room are nothing new and routinely happen during changes in an administration.”
According to a source who spoke to CBS, an in-house construction crew renovated the briefing room’s adjacent green room earlier this year. It previously had minimal furnishings, comprising a table and chairs, a TV, photos of former defense secretaries, and a mirror on the back of the door.
Another source said the table was removed and a new chair and a large mirror with makeup lighting were installed.
The Pentagon spokesperson said the room will be available to senior leaders and VIPs ahead of press engagements and that the new items came from existing inventory, with a new countertop built by facilities staff.
“For this upgrade, we were deliberately conservative and opted for several less expensive, on-hand materiel solutions,” the spokesperson told CBS.
The network reports that, according to multiple sources, the idea for making over the green room came from Tami Radabaugh, the deputy assistant to the secretary for strategic engagement and a former producer for Fox News and for CBS News.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, and Jennifer Hegseth, the defense secretary's wife — also a former Fox producer — expressed approval for the work, one of the sources said.
While Hegseth has not used the briefing room to address or take questions from reporters, it has been used as a set for TV appearances, including a recent interview on Fox & Friends in which he blamed former Pentagon employees and the media for revealing the most recent security breach in which he sent sensitive military information to his wife, brother, and lawyer on a Signal group chat.
Notably, Hegseth did not deny the reports that he shared operational information with his family and close associates about strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Pete Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, approved of the room’s makeover, according to reports. (Getty Images)
It was the second such incident this year after National Security Adviser Michael Waltz accidentally included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, in a Signal group chat of government officials in which Hegseth shared strike times and details of the military operation.
He maintains that he did not share classified information in either case.
Hegseth, a combat veteran, was a morning show co-host on Fox & Friends Weekend before being nominated and confirmed as Trump’s defense secretary — a controversial process amid allegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and alcohol issues that he denied.
When speaking about his focus at the Pentagon, he has emphasized making improvements in warfighting abilities and military readiness to “revive the warrior ethos.”
The Independent has always had a global perspective. Built on a firm foundation of superb international reporting and analysis, The Independent now enjoys a reach that was inconceivable when it was launched as an upstart player in the British news industry. For the first time since the end of the Second World War, and across the world, pluralism, reason, a progressive and humanitarian agenda, and internationalism – Independent values – are under threat. Yet we, The Independent, continue to grow.
I am wondering if even the dim bulb Hegseth has realized what a disaster this admin is headed for and has decided to try and get ordered off the Titanic, He probably realizes what poor shape the US forces are, and if there is an Iran war, they will lose. After all they lost to the Taliban and Iran is 10000x more powerful then the Taliban.
The problem, amongst many, is that a hostile power can burrow into your contacts and track your doings and whereabouts through wives and friends, and can use them to deliver spyware etc and possibly get into the secure communications channels. Thus never cross the streams. This sort of carelessness increases the chances that the Russians or Chinese are inside the secure Com channels.
Carry on.
Carry on.
Pete Hegseth is crumbling under the pressure of leading the Pentagon.
The defense secretary—who prefers the moniker “Secretary of War”—is being described by staffers as “manic,” erupting into fits of rage and tumultuous tirades, the Daily Mail reported on Monday.
While he has reportedly always been temperamental, two staffers claim the former Fox News star’s mental state has reached new, frenzied heights after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this month.
Hegseth Cosplays as Action Man After Drug Boat BombingPLAYING THE PART
Ewan Palmer
They said Hegseth is becoming increasingly “obsessed” with his own security and exhibits frantic behavior, such as fidgeting and pacing during meetings.
“There’s a manic quality about him. Or let me rephrase, an even more manic quality, which is really saying something,” an insider told the outlet.
“Dude is crawling out of his skin,” another source said.
Pete Hegseth is growing "obsessed” with his own security, sources say. Omar Havana/Getty Images
The sources cited Hegseth’s increasingly erratic demands that have played out in public—most notably his recent order that every military official above the rank of one-star general fly in for a meeting in Virginia on Tuesday, even if stationed abroad.
The gathering is being described as a “pep rally,” where Hegseth will address military standards and the so-called “warrior ethos,” multiple people familiar with the planned event told The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Hegseth has introduced sweeping new guidelines restricting press access at his rebranded “Department of War.” According to the Mail, reporters now require express approval from the department to publish any information gathered at the Pentagon, and are forbidden from accessing most of the building without an escort.
Journalists must also sign compliance forms pledging to protect “sensitive information” and will lose their credentials if they violate the new rules.
President Donald Trump flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
When the crackdown was first announced, the Pentagon Press Association issued a blistering statement calling it “a direct attack on the freedom of the press and America’s right to know what its military is doing.”
Hegseth, 45, responded on X:
“The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon—the people do,” he began. “The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules—or go home.”
Hegseth Orders Reporters to Publish Only His Talking PointsDO AS I SAY
Jack Revell
Also under scrutiny are Hegseth’s extensive personal security demands, which, according to the paper, are now straining the Army agency responsible for protecting him. The Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) has reportedly pulled agents away from criminal probes in order to safeguard Hegseth’s residences in Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C.
Sources told the Mail that those security measures have, in part, been driven by Hegseth’s wife, former Fox News producer Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth, whose requests for protection go “far beyond” what’s been granted to other Trump administration officials.
“That warrior persona, he’s spooked,” they said.
When approached for comment, the Pentagon directed the Daily Beast to a statement spokesman Sean Parnell wrote to the Daily Mail: ”[We] receive all kinds [of] outrageous and untrue requests, but this might be the stupidest request we have received to date. You may be the least informed ‘journalist’ to ever report on the Pentagon. Your entire story is completely false.”
Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, also slammed the Mail story in an email to the Daily Beast. “The Daily Mail published a fictional essay that fails to meet any journalistic standards,” it reads. “The article contains publicly debunked claims, ‘sources’ that are fabricated, and a refusal to publish the statement provided by the Department spokesperson. Daily Mail should investigate and suspend the writer.”
www.thedailybeast.com
The defense secretary—who prefers the moniker “Secretary of War”—is being described by staffers as “manic,” erupting into fits of rage and tumultuous tirades, the Daily Mail reported on Monday.
While he has reportedly always been temperamental, two staffers claim the former Fox News star’s mental state has reached new, frenzied heights after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this month.
Hegseth Cosplays as Action Man After Drug Boat BombingPLAYING THE PART
Ewan Palmer
They said Hegseth is becoming increasingly “obsessed” with his own security and exhibits frantic behavior, such as fidgeting and pacing during meetings.
“There’s a manic quality about him. Or let me rephrase, an even more manic quality, which is really saying something,” an insider told the outlet.
“Dude is crawling out of his skin,” another source said.
Pete Hegseth is growing "obsessed” with his own security, sources say. Omar Havana/Getty Images
The sources cited Hegseth’s increasingly erratic demands that have played out in public—most notably his recent order that every military official above the rank of one-star general fly in for a meeting in Virginia on Tuesday, even if stationed abroad.
The gathering is being described as a “pep rally,” where Hegseth will address military standards and the so-called “warrior ethos,” multiple people familiar with the planned event told The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Hegseth has introduced sweeping new guidelines restricting press access at his rebranded “Department of War.” According to the Mail, reporters now require express approval from the department to publish any information gathered at the Pentagon, and are forbidden from accessing most of the building without an escort.
Journalists must also sign compliance forms pledging to protect “sensitive information” and will lose their credentials if they violate the new rules.
President Donald Trump flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
When the crackdown was first announced, the Pentagon Press Association issued a blistering statement calling it “a direct attack on the freedom of the press and America’s right to know what its military is doing.”
Hegseth, 45, responded on X:
“The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon—the people do,” he began. “The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules—or go home.”
Hegseth Orders Reporters to Publish Only His Talking PointsDO AS I SAY
Jack Revell
Also under scrutiny are Hegseth’s extensive personal security demands, which, according to the paper, are now straining the Army agency responsible for protecting him. The Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) has reportedly pulled agents away from criminal probes in order to safeguard Hegseth’s residences in Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C.
Sources told the Mail that those security measures have, in part, been driven by Hegseth’s wife, former Fox News producer Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth, whose requests for protection go “far beyond” what’s been granted to other Trump administration officials.
“That warrior persona, he’s spooked,” they said.
When approached for comment, the Pentagon directed the Daily Beast to a statement spokesman Sean Parnell wrote to the Daily Mail: ”[We] receive all kinds [of] outrageous and untrue requests, but this might be the stupidest request we have received to date. You may be the least informed ‘journalist’ to ever report on the Pentagon. Your entire story is completely false.”
Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, also slammed the Mail story in an email to the Daily Beast. “The Daily Mail published a fictional essay that fails to meet any journalistic standards,” it reads. “The article contains publicly debunked claims, ‘sources’ that are fabricated, and a refusal to publish the statement provided by the Department spokesperson. Daily Mail should investigate and suspend the writer.”
Pentagon Pete’s ‘Manic’ Meltdowns Exposed by Aides
The former Fox News host is reportedly spiraling out of control.
