US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, attended two high-level meetings involving sensitive national security discussions with foreign military counterparts, raising concerns about protocol and security. These meetings included a session with the UK defense secretary at the Pentagon and another at NATO headquarters in Brussels. While spouses occasionally attend official events, former defense officials cited the unusual nature of a spouse’s presence in such sensitive discussions. The incidents follow criticism of Hegseth’s handling of classified information in a leaked Signal chat, prompting a Senate inquiry.
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Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, acknowledged a security breach where the Atlantic’s editor was added to a sensitive Signal group chat. Wicker, along with his Democratic counterpart, requested an expedited review from the Pentagon’s inspector general. In contrast, other Republicans, including White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, attempted to downplay the incident with dismissive rhetoric, arguing the leaked plans were either too vague or too specific to be considered genuine war plans. Senator Mike Rounds, while expressing concern over the inappropriate nature of the leaked information, indicated a need for further review to assess the situation.
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Following a security breach revealing sensitive military plans shared via Signal, the Pentagon issued a warning to its employees about potential vulnerabilities in the app. This warning, citing possible exploitation by Russian hacking groups, advises against using Signal for non-public information despite its end-to-end encryption. Signal developers deny the existence of any unaddressed vulnerabilities. The breach, involving top administration officials and a journalist accidentally added to a group chat, sparked widespread criticism and debate over security protocols and the handling of sensitive information. The incident highlighted a larger concern about the use of third-party messaging apps for government communication.
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John Q. Hosedrinker