Pete Hegseth just attacked leakers in a new Department of War video - yes, really | indy100

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Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, has announced the creation of a joint task force between the Department of War and Department of Justice to “identify and prosecute leakers” – but social media users have been quick to point out his department’s own blunder in that area.

In a video posted to X/Twitter on Monday, the former Fox News host said: “The unauthorized disclosure of sensitive War Department information, has the very real potential to cause exceptionally grave damage to our national security, and the operational integrity of our armed forces.

“To leak sensitive national defense information and secrets betrays the men and women who wears our nation’s uniform.

“Leaked information risks lives … Access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust, and those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law.”

Except, back in March last year, Hegseth’s Department of War was caught up in a scandal after the editor of The Atlantic was inadvertently added to a group chat in the messaging app Signal, which saw him receive messages from an account in Hegseth’s name pertaining to strikes on Yemen.

“The Hegseth post contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing,” journalist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote at the time.

Hegseth lashed out at Goldberg following the report, branding him a “deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again”.

National security advisor Mike Waltz later took full responsibility for the scandal during a Fox News interview, in which he called Goldberg a “loser” who may have “deliberately” tricked someone in the administration into getting access to the group chat.

The Atlantic said it stands by its reporting.

And when the Department of Defense’s inspector general looked into Hegseth’s “reported use of a commercially available messaging application for official business” in December, they found that the defense secretary “sent nonpublic DoD information identifying the quantity and strike times of manned U.S. aircraft over hostile territory over an unapproved, unsecure network approximately 2 to 4 hours before the execution of those strikes”.

“Using a personal cell phone to conduct official business and send nonpublic DoD information through Signal risks potential compromise of sensitive DoD information, which could cause harm to DoD personnel and mission objectives,” the report read.

With all this in mind, Hegseth’s video was soon met with ridicule:

CNN anchor Jake Tapper linked to the inspector general’s report and added: “I know of one leak that put our brave pilots at risk!”:

“The irony singularity goes supercritical,” tweeted Atlantic writer Tom Nichols:

Massachusetts representative Jim McGovern wrote: “You mean like when you discussed war plans in your easily-hackable Signal group chat?”:

Democratic candidate and podcaster Fred Wellman branded the video a “complete clown show”:

Content creator Boston Smalls tweeted: “So are you going to arrest yourself then?”:

“We have identified one,” commented New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand, attaching a screenshot of an article headline which reads: “Hegseth’s Signal chat put U.S personnel at risk, Pentagon watchdog finds”:

And physical therapist Adam James, known for posting videos under the name Epistemic Crisis, asked: “What if they invite the editor of a major outlet to a Signal chat?”:

The Department of Defense has been approached by indy100 for comment.

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