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Topics: US News, Politics, Phones, Donald Trump
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth shared top-secret military plans about the US bombing the Houthis in Yemen in a second group chat, reports have claimed.
As well as being involved in the initial security scandal in March, it has now been claimed that the former TV presenter also sent sensitive information about the mission to some of his nearest and dearest.
He has been accused of sharing confidential details of the planned strikes before they took place on 15 March to a group chat which included his wife, brother and his personal lawyer.
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Four people who claim to have knowledge of the conversation - which took place on the Signal app, as it did in the first instance - alleged that Hegseth shared a schedule of air strikes.
The messages are said to have consisted of nearly identical attack plans to those that were included in the group chat between officials in the Trump administration and leaked by The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, after he was accidentally added.
Goldberg was inadvertently added to the conversation by security adviser Mike Waltz, with an unnamed official later describing him as a 'f**king idiot'.
He took ‘full responsibility’ for the blunder and claims he didn’t see the ‘loser’ journalist in the group - while Goldberg thought he was being pranked, until 'bombs started falling'.
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The journalist alleged that the messages included 'precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing' from defence secretary Hegseth.
The New York Times has now reported that Hegseth sent similar correspondence to a group chat which included his wife and former Fox News producer, Jennifer Rauchet.
Hegseth's brother, Phil, and personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore - who both have jobs in the Pentagon - were also said to have been in the group chat.
The publication claimed that the messages sent by Hegseth 'included the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen'.
A dozen other people from his 'personal and professional inner circle' were said to be in the group chat which was created by Hegseth and named 'Defense | Team Huddle', according to The New York Times.
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In a statement to the publication, the White House said no classified information was shared.
The defence secretary is said to have sent the correspondence from his private mobile phone rather than a government device.
He used the Signal app, which provides end to end encryption for users.
However, a cybersecurity expert previously told LADbible that this does not mean it is an 'appropriate' place to discuss classified material, though.
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"The apps are secure, yes but that doesn’t make it a good idea or appropriate for classified material," tech whizz Rob Pritchard explained last month.
"The apps are only as good as the devices they are being used on - if someone has compromised your phone or computer and you are using Signal/WhatsApp they can read your messages, and I would expect senior US officials to be targeted by many capable adversaries.
"It’s a pretty egregious breach. It’s one thing to use Signal for organising and general unclassified comms but it seems it went much further than that.
"Also, clearly people aren’t paying attention to who they’re adding to these group chats."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for Hegseth to get the sack amid the latest revelation about US' officials supposedly lax approach to top-secret information.
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"The details keep coming out," he wrote in a post on Twitter yesterday (20 April). "We keep learning how Pete Hegseth put lives at risk.
"But Trump is still too weak to fire him. Pete Hegseth must be fired."
LADbible has contacted the White House for comment.