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Hegseth shared Yemen strike details in a second Signal chat that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer

The New York Times reported on April 20-21, 2025 that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details of the March 15 Yemen strikes, including warplane launch times, in a second, separate Signal group chat called "Defense | Team Huddle." The 13-member chat included Hegseth's wife Jennifer Hegseth, his brother Phil Hegseth (a Pentagon DHS liaison), and Hegseth's personal lawyer — none of whom held a national-security role.

Part of: Signalgate and the Absence of Accountability

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

On April 20-21, 2025, The New York Times reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had shared details of the March 15, 2025 Yemen strikes — including warplane launch times, which multiple former and current officials said would ordinarily be classified before an operation — in a second, separate Signal group chat called "Defense | Team Huddle." That chat, distinct from the "Houthi PC small group" chat at the center of the original Signalgate story, had 13 members including Hegseth's wife Jennifer Hegseth, a former Fox News producer with no government national-security role; his brother Phil Hegseth, a Pentagon Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior adviser; and Hegseth's personal lawyer — none of whom held a national-security role justifying access to military operational details.

The White House and a Pentagon spokesman disputed that any classified information was shared. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called for Hegseth's firing. The Pentagon Inspector General's ongoing Signalgate investigation was expanded to cover this second chat as well.

Why we recorded this

Weeks after the "Houthi PC small group" Signal chat became public, Defense Secretary Hegseth was revealed to have shared the same kind of sensitive strike information — again outside classified government channels — in a second Signal chat, this time with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer, none of whom held any national-security role. This shows the earlier disclosure did not change his conduct, and that officials' unofficial channels for handling operational military details extended even to people with no government function at all.

Sources

  1. Hegseth had a second Signal chat where he shared details of Yemen strike, New York Times reports — PBS NewsHour (reporting NYT's story) primary accessed July 9, 2026
  2. Hegseth shared attack plans in Signal chat including wife, brother, personal lawyer: NYT — The Hill secondary accessed July 9, 2026
  3. United States government group chat leaks — Wikipedia secondary accessed July 9, 2026
  4. Hegseth Comes Under Fire Amid Second Signal Controversy — TIME secondary accessed July 9, 2026

See also