Defense Secretary Pete Hegses set up a commercial messaging app signal on computers in the Pentagon office so that personal mobile phones can send and receive instant messages in unauthorized spaces, according to two people with knowledge of the issue.
Hegseth’s move has encouraged easier communications in buildings where mobile phone services are poor and personal mobile phones are not permitted in certain areas. It was first reported Washington Post.
According to one of the people with knowledge of the matter, the Secretary of Defense has two computers in his office. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity due to sensitivity to the situation.
Hegseth installed the cable in early March to allow private computers to be connected to signals, according to a second person with knowledge of the issue.
His secret assistant and his junior military aide, Colonel Ricky Billia, had the same signal capabilities, the person said.
The latest revelation comes after the New York Times reported that Hegseth shared a highly sensitive and detailed attack plan in a signalling chat group that included his wife, brother and his personal attorney before the mission was launched against Yemen’s Hoti Target on March 15th.
He essentially shared the same information in a group chat with the head of national security authorities just before the strike. The facts of that conversation came into existence when the Atlantic reported that editor Jeffrey Goldberg was incorrectly included in the group chat.
Trump administration officials have suggested that hegses’ use of signals in his office is fine.
“The Secretary of Defense’s communications systems and channel use are classified,” said Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman. “But you can make sure your secretary has never used it and is currently not using signals on government computers.”
White House spokesman Karoline Leavitt called it “another non-story,” noting that Signal is an app approved for government use.
The Pentagon’s representative inspector announced earlier this month that he would be reviewing the disclosure of Mr. Hegzes’ Yemen strikes by signal.
Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, who chairs the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Jack Reed, Rhode Island, requested a review. In a letter last month, the senator asked inspectors to investigate whether Hegses shared sensitive or sensitive information on the National Security Group Chat.
Details of the strike sent by Hegseth came from the US Central Command through a secure government system designed to send confidential information, according to officials and people familiar with the conversation.
In addition to disclosure of Signal Chat, last month, Hegses saw the disbandment of inner advisers of military veterans who had little experience running a large and complicated organization like him. Three members of the team he brought with him to the Pentagon were escorted from the building last week after being accused of leaking fraudulent information.
President Trump and White House officials stood by Hegses through both controversies related to the signal.
But Hegses also irritated White House officials by booking himself for a Fox News interview Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, he accused the advisor of creating a story about him.
White House officials told him that, according to someone with knowledge of the discussion, he hopes to control his staffing and get a horrifying situation.
