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
Hegseth accused alleged leakers uncovered during an ongoing Defense Department investigation of trying to “sabotage” the Trump administration.
“That’s unfortunate. It’s not what I do. It’s 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.”
The Pentagon pushed back against Sunday’s New York Times report, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told “Fox & Friends” that President Donald Trump stands by Hegseth.
The first Signal chat, revealed last month, included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
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