MaddowBlog-As allegations against Hegseth mount, the Pentagon chief faces a new kind of problem

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Last edited Mon Mar 31, 2025, 04:56 PM - Edit history (1)

As Pete Hegseth flails, there are apparently Pentagon insiders eager to talk about the defense secretary’s struggles.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3llopdxucnk2a

Hegseth's big problem: There's fresh evidence of his incompetence, failures, and abuses.

Hegseth's other problem: There appear to be Pentagon insiders who are willing to talk to reporters about his incompetence, failures, and abuses

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/allegations-hegseth-mount-pentagon-chief-faces-new-kind-problem-rcna198856

The Associated Press reported on Friday, for example, that Hegseth tapped his younger brother, Phil Hegseth, to serve as senior adviser to the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and liaison officer to the Defense Department — a title that has meant, among other things, a trip to Guantanamo Bay and traveling on the Pentagon’s 747 aircraft as the Cabinet secretary makes his first trip to the Indo-Pacific. The AP’s report added:

It’s common for the Defense Department and other federal agencies to have liaisons. Each military branch sends liaisons to Capitol Hill. The Pentagon, State Department and others all use interagency liaisons to more closely coordinate and keep tabs on policy. But it is not common for those senior-level positions to be filled by family members of the Cabinet heads....

Despite Hegseth’s apparent preoccupation with merit-based employment decisions, his younger brother received a position of influence at the Pentagon despite a background as the founder of a podcast production company.

Around the same time, The Wall Street Journal published another report about the defense secretary that raised eyebrows:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is facing scrutiny over his handling of details of a military strike, brought his wife, a former Fox News producer, to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed, according to multiple people who were present or had knowledge of the discussions.

The Journal’s report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, added that a Defense 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.”....

The reporting from the AP and the Journal dovetailed with a Politico report that said while Donald Trump has expressed public support for Hegseth, “behind the scenes, administration insiders are starting to express doubts about the Pentagon chief’s judgment.” CNN had a related piece that said, “Interviews with multiple current and former national security officials this week, including career military and civilian officials, reflect growing concerns about Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon.”

Taken individually, the revelations about his brother’s job and his wife’s access are certainly important in their own right. But let’s not overlook the story behind the stories: It appears increasingly obvious that there are some people at the Pentagon who’ve learned some unfortunate things about Hegseth, and they’re suddenly eager to share that information with journalists.

Or put another way, two months into Hegseth’s tenure, he’s generating the kind of chatter that his respected and qualified predecessor didn’t have to worry about at the department he ostensibly leads.

It’s a problem for the Pentagon chief that there’s evidence of his incompetence, abuses and failures, but it’s just as notable a problem that there are DOD insiders who are apparently willing to talk to reporters about his incompetence, abuses and failures.

[UTUSN]

1. knr - otoh, people talking before weren't able to keep him out in the first place.

[SheltieLover]

2. ...

DoD's biz is not to coddle this deviant idiot, but to protect our military & country.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Loose-lipped Pentagon workers hit Hegseth with crisis equal to Signalgate: analyst

We know about Hegseth's brother and wife due to people in the Pentagon leaking these stories to the press

Link to tweet

https://www.rawstory.com/loose-lipped-pentagon-staff-hit-hegseth-with-a-crisis-equal-to-signalgate-analyst

Some Pentagon officials seem willing and able to leak sensitive information about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's shortcomings and failures — and it's creating scandals just as hefty as Signalgate, according to a new article with MSNBC.....

Also last week, The Wall Street Journal published an unflattering report that Hegseth "brought his wife, a former Fox News producer, to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed," the Journal wrote, citing "multiple people who were present or had knowledge of the discussions."

Politico and CNN published their own stories saying that, while President Donald Trump outwardly expressed support for Hegseth, interviews with administration insiders "reflect growing concerns about Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon.”

Benen wrote that all of these stories pointed to the fact "that there are some people at the Pentagon who’ve learned some unfortunate things about Hegseth, and they’re suddenly eager to share that information with journalists."

He concluded, "It’s a problem for the Pentagon chief that there’s evidence of his incompetence and failures, but it’s just as notable a problem that there are DOD insiders who are apparently willing to talk to reporters about his incompetence and failures."