“The circle of top advisers in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s orbit has shrunk in recent days to little more than his wife, lawyer, and two lower-level officials — leaving the Pentagon’s lead office without longtime expertise or clear direction.
Hegseth’s decision to fire three senior aides last week and reassign his chief of staff has blown a hole in his leadership team, severing essential lines of communication across the department and leading to fears about dangerous slip-ups such as weapons program delays.”
Reported: ‘Hegseth aids warned him before the strikes not to discuss sensitive operational details on Signal because the app is not considered as secure as government channels.’
“Ullyot, who resigned from the Pentagon last week, described a department in collapse. He accused Hegseth’s team of “falsehoods” about why three top officials were fired last week, saying they hadn’t leaked sensitive information to the media. He chastised Pentagon officials for how they handled revelations that Hegseth shared sensitive military information in a Signal chat, and he pointed to other leaks that caused embarrassment to the administration.
The remarkable accusations by a former official — who left only two days ago and insists he still supports the Trump administration’s national security policies — underscores the infighting and upheaval that has turned increasingly public in recent weeks.
But he also found himself in the center of several controversies that added to that chaos.”
…
“The Pentagon on Friday fired top staffers — senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to the deputy Defense secretary. Joe Kasper, Hegseth’s chief of staff will also leave his role in the coming days for a new position at the agency, according to a senior administration official.”
…
“The three fired staff backed up some of Ullyot’s claims in a Saturday post on X, saying they didn’t know why they were terminated. The trio wrote that they “have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with.”
They charged that “unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door.” They expressed support for the “Trump-Vance Administration’s mission to make the Pentagon great again,” but did not mention Hegseth, with whom they’d worked closely.
The terminations follow a purge of top military officers in February, including former Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, and Air Force second in command, Gen. James Slife.”
“The New York Times reported that Hegseth shared sensitive information about military operations in Yemen in a private chat on the Signal app that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer — the second reported instance of the secretary sharing operational plans in an unclassified chat. The revelations have reignited the so-called Signalgate scandal and deepened scrutiny over Hegseth’s judgment and leadership.”
…
“Ullyot — once a vocal supporter of the Defense secretary — accused Hegseth’s team of spreading unverified claims about three top officials who were fired last week, falsely accusing them of leaking sensitive information to media outlets.”
Trump fires top military lawyers so they aren’t roadblocks to anything Trump wants to do. But, the lawyers are supposed to be roadblocks! They are there to help the military follow the law and the Constitution.
“Sex assault allegations? Blame “left-wing” media.
Issues with drinking? Those are anonymous smears.
No women in combat? That’s not what I said.
Pete Hegseth used a pattern of denials, memory holes and attacking the “left-wing” media at his Tuesday confirmation hearing for Pentagon chief as he sought to counter controversial issues in his past. And that strategy may work for him — along with Donald Trump’s other troubled nominees.”
“Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, has repeatedly criticized policies allowing gay people to serve openly in the US military, calling them part of a “Marxist” agenda to prioritize social justice over combat readiness.”
…
“Hegseth in his book does not reference any specific examples of incidents to support his argument that gay individuals openly serving has been detrimental to the military.”
Trump pick accused of sexual assault and abusing women claims accusations are based on nothing when there’s a police report and the words of his own mother. He acts like “they” are out to get him rather than dealing truthfully with the evidence against him. Megyn Kelly lets such bullshit go unchallenged like she doesn’t care or didn’t do basic homework before talking to an important guest.