The Pentagon appears to be facing another scandal. 

This time, the New York Times is claiming that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth himself leaked war plans.

The White House, as we will see, is disputing the report.

This appears to relate back to the Signal group chat situation that took place in March, when an editor from The Atlantic was mistakenly included in a chat involving high-ranking Trump administration officials.

The latest claimed leak

The Times reports:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed information about forthcoming strikes in Yemen on March 15 in a private Signal group chat that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer, according to four people with knowledge of the chat.

Included in the alleged leak, according to the outlet, were "flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen."

This information appears to be identical to the information sent in the chat that included the Atlantic editor.

The Times goes on to report:

Unlike the chat in which The Atlantic was mistakenly included, the newly revealed one was created by Mr. Hegseth. It included his wife and about a dozen other people from his personal and professional inner circle in January, before his confirmation as defense secretary, and was named “Defense | Team Huddle,” the people familiar with the chat said. He used his private phone, rather than his government one, to access the Signal chat.

The Trump administration has already responded to the report.

"Another old story"

As of the time of this writing, the Trump administration is arguing that this report from the Times is nothing new.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell released a statement on the situation on Sunday.

He, in part, wrote:

Another day, another old story—back from the dead. The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda. This time, the New York Times — and all other Fake News that repeat their garbage — are enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole sources for their article. They relied only on the words of people who were fired this week and appear to have a motive to sabotage the Secretary and the President's agenda.

President Donald Trump, at the time of this writing, has not weighed in on the situation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
4/20/25

STATEMENT:

Another day, another old story—back from the dead. The Trump-hating media continues to be obsessed with destroying anyone committed to President Trump’s agenda. This time, the New York Times — and all other Fake News that repeat their…

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellATSD) April 21, 2025