Amid the fallout over the Signalgate group chat between national security officials that inadvertently included the editor of The Atlantic, a report has emerged that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brought his wife to two meetings with foreign military officials.
The Wall Street Journal reports that sensitive information was discussed in both meetings, one with U.K. officials and another with NATO defense ministers, according to multiple people who were either present or had knowledge of the discussions.
Jennifer Hegseth, a former Fox News producer, is said to have been present at a March 6 meeting at the Pentagon with Britain’s Secretary of Defence John Healy and Admiral Tony Radakin, head of the U.K. armed forces.
The meeting came at an especially sensitive moment — the day after the U.S. said it had cut off military intelligence sharing with Ukraine — and discussions included the rationale for the decision and future military collaboration.
The defense secretary’s wife was also at a meeting in February at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels, the Journal reports, citing two people who attended.
That meeting, on the sidelines of the conference of NATO defense ministers, was a gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group — some 50 nations that periodically meet to coordinate the production and delivery of weapons and other support for Ukraine.
Officials said that national representatives “routinely present confidential information, such as donations to Ukraine that they don’t want to be made public,” the Journal reports.
Some foreign attendees at the two meetings didn’t know who Jennifer Hegseth was, according to people familiar with both events, and others were surprised by her presence but proceeded with no objections.
It is not known if her presence had an impact on what was discussed at either meeting.
A secretary can technically invite anyone to such meetings, but attendee lists are limited to necessary participants, who usually need security clearances due to the sensitive nature of the discussions, according to defense officials. Security is often present near the meeting space to deter uninvited attendees.
Jennifer Hegseth is not an employee of the Defense Department, but it is not uncommon for spouses of senior officials to possess low-level security clearances.
A Pentagon spokesperson declined to tell the Journal if Ms Hegseth has such clearance and she did not respond to a request for comment from the outlet.
Further to the presence of his wife at sensitive meetings, Hegseth has confirmed that his younger brother, Phil Hegseth, also holds a prominent position within the Pentagon.
He serves as a senior advisor to the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and liaison officer to the Department of Defense.
In this position, he has enjoyed unique experiences, including meetings with UFC star Conor McGregor and a visit to Guantanamo Bay, and he is currently accompanying the defense secretary on his inaugural trip to the Indo-Pacific aboard the Pentagon's 747 aircraft.
A 1967 federal nepotism law prohibits government officials from hiring, promoting or recommending relatives to any civilian position over which they exercise control.
