Red Right Daily

Truth in Freedom

White House Responds To Report On Hegseth

White House Responds To Report On Hegseth

A storm is brewing at the highest levels of national defense, but it’s not coming from enemy forces overseas—it’s coming from the media warrooms of Washington. Over the weekend, The New York Times dropped a report alleging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared “highly sensitive military information” in a private Signal chat group accessed via his personal phone. But within hours, the Defense Department, the White House, and Hegseth himself fired back with a unified message: the story is built on the sand of anonymous sources and weaponized discontent.

The article, citing individuals who remain unnamed, claimed that a Signal group—dubbed “Defense | Team Huddle”—included Hegseth, his wife, his brother, and his attorney. The timing was eyebrow-raising, coming on the heels of a separate, much-publicized mishap where Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included in another Signal thread discussing Houthi operations. That blunder was ultimately chalked up to iPhone automation quirks, with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz owning up to the mistake.

But this second “leak,” according to the NYT, connects Hegseth to at least two Pentagon officials recently removed from their posts over ongoing investigations into unauthorized disclosures. The implication? That Hegseth may have been looped into conversations crossing ethical or legal lines. Yet notably, the story offered no hard proof—no quotes, no screenshots, no confirmed messages.

Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell wasted no time punching back, labeling the story as part of a broader effort by “Trump-hating media” to sabotage both the Secretary and the administration’s agenda. Parnell called it a regurgitation of “old news” repackaged with a new coat of speculation and bitterness from fired employees. “There was no classified information in any Signal chat,” he said emphatically, asserting that the Pentagon remains focused on strengthening operations and “executing President Trump’s agenda.”

Hegseth, who has quickly become a lightning rod of reform and rhetoric within the Pentagon, dismissed the report as another chapter in the media’s long-running effort to undermine him. “This is what the media does,” he said. “They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations. Not going to work with me.”

The White House echoed that sentiment with force. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt praised Hegseth’s leadership during a segment on “Fox & Friends,” reinforcing the administration’s support and directly challenging a follow-up NPR report that the White House was already eyeing replacements. “This @NPR story is total FAKE NEWS,” she posted, standing firm against what she framed as another baseless whisper campaign.

Written by Mark Stevens - April 22, 2025