Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ripped into the mainstream media while attending the Easter Egg Roll at the White House on Monday.
Hegseth was responding to a report first published by the New York Times that he had sent information about a future military strike on the Houthi terrorist group to a Signal group chat with his wife, his brother, and a personal lawyer. The accusation came after a similarly embarrassing leak to the editor in chief of the Atlantic.
‘We’re changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of warfighters, and anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn’t matter.’
Hegseth lambasted the media while speaking outside the White House to reporters about the leak.
“This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations,” said Hegseth.
“Not gonna work with me because we’re changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of warfighters, and anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn’t matter,” he added. “So I’m happy to be here at the Easter Egg Roll with my dad and my kids, because this is what we’re doing it for.”
He went on to point to all the reporters and deride them as “hoaxsters.”
Hegseth’s brother and his personal attorney are both employees at the Pentagon, but his wife is not, according to the report.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Hegseth from the accusations.
“This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change you are trying to implement,” she said.
When President Donald Trump was asked about the Hegseth leaks, he responded with support for the defense secretary.
“He’s doing a great job — ask the Houthis how he’s doing,” Trump said to reporters after the Easter Egg Roll.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell also criticized the media and downplayed the incident.
“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,” he wrote on social media.
National security adviser Mike Waltz admitted that he had accidentally added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of the Atlantic, to the first Houthi strike Signal group, and while some called for his resignation, he continues to serve at the Defense Department.
Here’s video of Hegseth’s comments:
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