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The US defence department has officially denied that Defence Secretary Pete Hagel has shared confidential information on Signal’s personal chats, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
Pentagon’s reaction: “This is a sabotage attempt”
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell called the reports “fake news”, allegedly based only on the testimony of recently released individuals:
“The media is relying on people who were fired this week and seem to have a motive to sabotage the minister and the president.”
Parnell stressed that no classified information was discussed in any of the chats and emphasised that the office of the Secretary of Defence is “strengthening and effectively implementing President Trump’s agenda”. The dismissal and the background of the investigation
Against the backdrop of the leak scandal, the Pentagon has seen a series of high-profile dismissals. People were removed from their posts:
- Colin Carroll – Chief of Staff to the Deputy Minister;
- Dan Caldwell is a senior advisor to Hugheset;
- Darin Selnik – Deputy Chief of Staff;
- Joe Kasper – Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defence (although he is currently looking for a new position).
The investigation concerns not only the leak of information about the Yemen operation, but also details about the Panama Canal, the movement of an aircraft carrier to the Red Sea, Elon Musk’s visit and a temporary pause in intelligence gathering on Ukraine.
