New Signal Scandal: Pete Hegseth Allegedly Shared Yemen Plans with Family

New Signal Scandal: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive details of a military operation targeting Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels in a private Signal messaging group that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer, according to sources cited.

The Guardian has independently confirmed the existence of Hegseth’s own private group chat.

The existence of the Signal group chat created by US national security adviser Mike Waltz, in which Hegseth divulged critical details of the attack plans to other Trump administration officials, was made public last month by Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic, who had been accidentally added to the group involving all of President Donald Trump's most senior national security officials.

The new report said Hegseth allegedly shared the same details of the attack that were revealed last month by The Atlantic magazine. The NYT, citing four sources familiar with the message group, said that the second chat included details of the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets that would strike Houthi rebel targets in Yemen.

The existence of the Signal group chat created by Waltz, in which Hegseth divulged detailed attack plans to other Trump administration officials on the private messaging app, was made public last month by Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic, who had been accidentally added to the group by Waltz.

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Unlike the group in which The Atlantic was mistakenly included by Waltz, the other chat was created by Hegseth himself in January, and it reportedly included his wife and about a dozen other people from his personal and professional inner circle. The group was named "Defense | Team Huddle," and was operated through his private phone, rather than his government one, the report said.

At The White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP) WASHINGTON (Reuters) — US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details of a March attack on Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis before it took place in a message group that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, the New York Times reported on Sunday, raising more questions about his use of an unclassified messaging system to share highly sensitive security details.

Hegseth allegedly shared the same details of the attack that were revealed last month by The Atlantic magazine after its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was included in a separate chat on the Signal app by mistake, in an embarrassing incident involving all of President Donald Trump’s most senior national security officials.

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That Signal chat saw officials including Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz discuss the coming strikes, which took place on March 15. Goldberg was exposed to discussions between the top officials about the strikes, which he then reported on after the bombings went ahead.

The revelation sparked an uproar, with Trump’s administration facing a scandal over the accidental leak. A Pentagon Inspector-General’s probe into that leak is ongoing.

Trump largely pinned the blame for the earlier leak on Waltz, but dismissed calls to fire top officials and insisted instead on what he called the success of the raids on the Yemeni rebels.

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