The sensitive military details, which the Defense secretary shared using his personal phone, were initially sent to Hegseth by U.S. Central Command head Army Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla minutes before U.S. fighter jets took off for strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis, three U.S. officials told NBC News.
Using a secure U.S. government system, Kurilla reportedly sent details about when the American fighters would take off and when they would hit their targets, keeping Hegseth in the loop.
Two sources told NBC that Hegseth, less than 10 minutes after receiving the information, sent some of it to two Signal group chats — one composed of Trump administration Cabinet officials, their designees, and, mistakenly, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic; and another that included Hegseth's family and personal lawyer, among others in his inner circle.
Hegseth shared the information on Signal days after an aide warned him to take caution and not send sensitive information on unsecure communications systems, two people told NBC.
The revelation about the source of the information, not previously reported, ignites fresh questions about the former Fox News host's handling of sensitive military information.
The Pentagon chief, who has staunchly denied the information relayed was classified, took to "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday morning to repeat that message.
"I look at war plans every single day. What was shared over Signal, then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordination for media coordination and other things," Hegseth said.
In response to questions from The Hill on the new report, Pentagon press secretary Sean Parnell also insisted "no classified material was ever shared via Signal."
The NBC report comes on the heels of a string of high-profile Pentagon staff firings and the revelation of the second Signal chat that included Hegseth's wife and brother, as reported by The New York Times on Sunday.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
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