Additional Coverage:
- Hegseth ‘brought wife to sensitive meetings with foreign military’ where leaders ‘questioned who she was’ (irishstar.com)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Faces Scrutiny Over Wife’s Presence at Sensitive Meetings
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing new questions after reports emerged that his wife, Jennifer Rauchet Hegseth, attended multiple high-level meetings with foreign military officials. Sources revealed to The Wall Street Journal that Ms.
Hegseth, a former Fox News producer, was present at a March 6th Pentagon meeting between Secretary Hegseth and U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey.
This meeting reportedly included sensitive discussions involving the head of the U.K.’s armed forces, Adm. Tony Radakin, and the U.S. policy on intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Ms. Hegseth also reportedly attended a meeting last month at NATO headquarters in Brussels where ongoing support for Ukraine was discussed.
While secretaries have discretion regarding meeting attendees, these gatherings typically involve individuals with high-level security clearances due to the sensitive nature of the information discussed. A Department of Defense official confirmed to the Journal that Ms.
Rauchet-Hegseth is not a defense department employee. The Pentagon declined to comment on whether she holds any security clearance.
This latest controversy comes as Secretary Hegseth is already under fire following the leak of information regarding potential bombing campaigns in Yemen via a Signal group chat. While National Security Advisor Michael Waltz claimed responsibility for inadvertently adding a journalist to the chat, Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) are requesting an inspector general investigation into the use of the messaging app by administration officials. Secretary Hegseth, currently traveling in the Indo-Pacific region, has dismissed concerns about the leaked information, stating he did not reveal “war plans.”