Washington DC [US], April 22 : The Secretary of Defence of the United States, Pete Hegseth, in a post on social media, criticised the media's handling of the Signal chat controversy. Hegseth expressed scepticism about the media's sudden interest in the story after a few individuals were fired for leaking information.
Hegseth accused the media of publishing "hit pieces" based on anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, drawing parallels with the Russia hoax controversy. Hegseth also criticised the media for receiving Pulitzer Prizes for what he described as "a bunch of lies," implying that the awards were undeserved.
In a video shared by CSPAN on X, when asked about the Signal chat controversy, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said, "You know, what a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax. won't give back their Pulitzers, they got Pulitzers for a bunch of lies ..."
He questioned the media's integrity, suggesting that they are more interested in damaging reputations than in objective reporting.
Attacking the media, he further said, "As they peddle those lies, no one ever calls them on it. See, this is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees and then they try slash and burn people and ruin their reputations. Not going to work with me because we're changing the Defence Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of war fighters"
He further added that "anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn't matter."
Referring to the Easter egg roll celebrations, Hegseth told the media that he would participate with his family and kids.
Attacking the democrats, Hegseth in his fiery speech further said, "This is why we're fighting the fake news media. This is why we're fighting slash-and-burn Democrats. This is why we're fighting Hoax-sters... that peddle anonymous sources from leakers with axes to grind and then you put it all together as if it's some news story".
In concluding his remarks, Hegseth said that he had spoken to the President about it, "and we are going to continue fighting on the same page all the way."
Earlier, the New York Times reported on Sunday that Hegseth shared sensitive information about the planned strike in Yemen on March 15 in a private group chat that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer.
Hegseth shared sensitive details about a planned military operation targeting the Houthis in Yemen through a private Signal group chat on his personal phone, CNN reported, citing three sources.
Two sources said the chat was initially created during Hegseth's confirmation hearings to coordinate with his closest allies and strategise. However, he continued to use it post-confirmation, maintaining communication with over a dozen people.
The revelation comes as some of Hegseth's closest advisers have begun sounding the alarm about the secretary's judgment, including his former press secretary, John Ullyot, and three former senior officials Hegseth fired last week -- his top adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and Colin Carroll, who served as chief of staff to the deputy secretary of defence, CNN reported.
"It's been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon. From leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings, the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president -- who deserves better from his senior leadership," Ullyot said in a statement obtained by CNN.
The second Signal chat is in addition to the one Hegseth used to communicate with Cabinet officials last month about military plans. The Defence Department's acting inspector general is investigating that chat.
Earlier this month, in a letter to Hegseth, Acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins notified him of an upcoming evaluation following a request from the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
A leaked Signal chat had revealed that senior Trump administration officials, including Hegseth, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe, shared details about an upcoming military strike on Yemen, The Atlantic reported.
The messages, inadvertently sent to The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, had raised serious concerns about operational security.