Photo by Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via AP
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth brought his wife to at least two meetings with foreign military leaders where “sensitive information was discussed,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
Hegseth has faced criticism in the wake of a bombshell report published by The Atlantic on Monday, stating that Hegseth shared plans for upcoming airstrikes in Yemen on a Signal group chat. Jeffrey Goldberg, the publication’s editor-in-chief, was inadvertently added to the chain by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Goldberg observed several top Trump officials discussing the plans.
The Journal reported on Friday night that Jennifer Hegseth, a former Fox News producer who met the secretary during their time together at the network, was at a high-level meeting with her husband and U.K. Secretary of Defense John Healey on March 6. That came a day after the U.S. said it would stop sharing military intelligence with Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia. She also attended a NATO meeting in Brussels in February “where allied defense officials discussed their support for Ukraine, according to two people who attended the meeting.”
The Department of Defense said Hegseth’s brother Philip Hegseth, who works at the Department of Homeland Security, has also been traveling with the secretary.
The outlet further reported:
A secretary can invite anyone to meetings with visiting counterparts, but attendee lists are usually carefully limited to those who need to be there and attendees are typically expected to possess security clearances given the delicate nature of the discussions, according to defense officials and people familiar with the meeting. There is often security near the meeting space to keep away uninvited attendees.
Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer Hegseth, isn’t a Defense Department employee, defense officials said. It isn‘t uncommon for spouses of senior officials to possess low-level security clearances, but a Pentagon spokesperson declined to say whether Jennifer has one. Jennifer didn’t respond to requests for comment.
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Some foreign attendees at the meetings didn’t know who Jennifer Hegseth was, according to people familiar with both gatherings. Others were surprised by her presence, but proceeded without raising objections, the people said. It isn‘t clear whether her presence affected what was discussed at either session.
Current and former defense officials told the Journal it is unusual for spouses to sit in on such meetings.
“When you have meetings with ministers or high-level NATO officials, those meetings almost always include sensitive security conversations,” said former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, a Republican who served in the Obama administration. “If you are going to discuss top secret, national security issues, you have to be very selective. What’s the relevancy of the person you are inviting?”
