Hegseth brought his wife to sensitive meetings with foreign military officials

US defence secretary whose handling of sensitive information is under fire after texting details of a military strike, also brought his wife to meetings with foreign military counterparts where delicate information was discussed.

Pete Hegseth and his wife, Jennifer Hegseth, on Capitol Hill during his confirmation process for defence secretary. Picture: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Zuma Press

Defence 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.

One of the meetings, a high-level discussion at the Pentagon on March 6 between Mr Hegseth and UK Secretary of Defence John Healey, took place at a sensitive moment for the trans-Atlantic alliance, one day after the US said it had cut off military intelligence-sharing with Ukraine. The group that met at the Pentagon, which included Admiral Tony Radakin, head of the UK’s armed forces, discussed the US rationale behind that decision, as well as future military collaboration between the two allies, according to people familiar with the meeting.

A 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 hold security clearances given the delicate nature of the discussions, according to defence officials and people familiar with the meeting. There is often security near the meeting space to keep away uninvited attendees.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, addressing British Defense Secretary John Healey, left, at the Pentagon. Picture: Rod Lamkey/AP

Jennifer Hegseth is not a Defence Department employee, defence officials said. It isn’t uncommon for spouses of senior officials to possess low-level security clearances, but a Pentagon spokesman declined to say if she has one and she did not respond to requests for comment.

Ms Hegseth also attended a meeting last month at North Atlantic Treaty Organisation headquarters in Brussels where allied defence officials discussed their support for Ukraine, according to two people at the meeting. Mr Hegseth’s brother, Philip Hegseth, has also been travelling with him on official visits, the Pentagon said.

The Brussels meeting, on the sidelines of a February conference of NATO defence ministers, was a gathering of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, a US-led forum of some 50 nations that periodically meets to co-ordinate on production and delivery of weapons and other support for Ukraine. At the closed-door discussions, national representatives routinely present confidential information, such as donations to Ukraine, they don’t want to be made public, according to officials.

Some foreign attendees at the meetings didn’t know who Jennifer Hegseth was, according to people familiar with both gatherings. Others were surprised by her presence, but proceeded without raising objections, the people said. It isn’t clear whether her presence affected what was discussed.

Jennifer Hegseth is seen sitting behind her husband at his meeting with the UK secretary of defense. Picture: Defense Department

Members of congress from both parties have raised concerns about Mr Hegseth’s handling of sensitive military information following revelations he and other administration officials used a group chat on the Signal messaging platform that included a journalist to discuss and execute a strike on Houthi militants in Yemen.

Republican senator Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Jack Reed the panel’s ranking Democrat, sent a letter on Thursday AEDT asking the Defence Department’s inspector-general to launch an inquiry into the chat.

High-ranking Defence Department officials occasionally bring their spouses on official travel and to ceremonial functions. At a news conference during the NATO conference in Brussels, Mr Hegseth told reporters his wife had joined him and had “been meeting with families of US troops” in Belgium and Germany.

But it is rare for spouses who are private citizens to sit in on national security meetings, according to current and former defence officials. “When you have meetings with ministers or high-level NATO officials, those meetings almost always include sensitive security conversations,” said Chuck Hagel, a Republican former secretary of defence under president Barack Obama. “If you are going to discuss top-secret, national security issues, you have to be very selective. What’s the relevancy of the person you are inviting?”

For a secretary’s wife to be present, Mr Hagel said: “It sends a message to the department: Why is the secretary doing that? It puts staff on guard over what to say and to whom. It introduces an issue you don’t need to introduce.”

Pete Hegseth flanked by his wife, Jennifer, and brother Philip. Picture: AP

A high-ranking former official in the Obama administration said Bill Clinton never attended meetings with then secretary of state Hillary Clinton, though he did go to North Korea to secure the release of a reporter. The person knew of no instance in which a spouse attended any official meeting. “That would be strange,” the former official said, “and would not make any sense.”

Younger brother Philip Hegseth, a podcast producer for conservative think tank the Hudson Institute and venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, recently joined the Department of Homeland Security as a liaison to the Department of Defence, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson.

Philip and Pete Hegseth travelled to Guantanamo Bay together last month and met with Irish martial artist Conor McGregor at the Pentagon in March, according to photographs published on the Defence Department website. Philip is currently travelling with Mr Hegseth on a tour to visit American allies and bases in Asia, Ms Wilson said. The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to a request for comment. Philip Hegseth didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Both his wife and his brother were near-constant fixtures at Mr Hegseth’s side during his contentious confirmation process for Defence Secretary.

Some senators were surprised Mr Hegseth invited Jennifer to sit next to him in their private meetings, making it awkward to ask questions about allegations related to infidelity and sexual misconduct, said people familiar with the senators’ thinking.

Photos and videos from a brief news conference that directly preceded the March meeting with the UK’s Mr Healey show Jennifer filing into the conference room and taking a seat behind her husband. Other attendees, numbering in the teens, included high-ranking military and diplomatic officials.

Mr Healey hoped to discuss America’s changing involvement in the war in Ukraine, he said in response to a reporter’s question before the meeting. “It’s the detail of those discussions, which are rightly behind the scenes, that the Defence Secretary and I will now pursue this afternoon.”

The media departed. Jennifer Hegseth stayed.

The Wall Street Journal