Tag Archives: Sean Parnell

Newsweek: Fired Pentagon Official Says He’s ‘Not Sure’ if Pete Hegseth Is OK

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Colin Carroll, a former top Pentagon official, said in an interview over the weekend that he’s “not sure” if Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is OK.

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Carroll described Hegseth’s leadership as “a tale of two Petes.” He praised the defense secretary’s ability to convince the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus to increase defense spending but criticized Hegseth’s fixation with “weird details” and tendency to get “very agitated” during meetings.

“He was very focused on the leaks and I think it kind of consumed the team a little bit,” Carroll told Kelly. “If you look at a pie chart of the secretary’s day, at this point, 50 percent of it is probably a leak investigation.”

Carroll was also asked about Hegseth’s contention in a recent interview when he said “disgruntled former employees are peddling things to try to save their a**.” Carroll told Kelly he thought Hegseth was unprepared for the questions but added that it doesn’t matter because the defense secretary has “an audience of one,” likely referring to President Donald Trump.

Fired Pentagon Official Says He’s ‘Not Sure’ if Pete Hegseth Is OK
Former Pentagon official Colin Carroll described Hegseth as fixated on “weird details and very agitated.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/fired-pentagon-official-says-he-s-not-sure-if-pete-hegseth-is-ok/ar-AA1DNeQY

Polygraph Threats, Leaks and Infighting: The Chaos Inside Hegseth’s Pentagon

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Defense secretary has chastised top military officers and staffers as he seeks to quiet a storm he helped create.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied discussing sensitive military information with his wife and others in the Signal app.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was rattled.

Word had leaked that he was planning a classified briefing for Elon Musk on China, a revelation that infuriated President Trump and raised alarms inside the Pentagon given Musk’s business ties to Beijing.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/pete-hegseth-pentagon-fired-aides-cfa9e0d5

Associated Press: Hegseth had an unsecured internet line set up in his office to connect to Signal, AP sources say

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While Hegseth threatens to have his underlings prosecuted, he can’t keep his own house in order:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told The Associated Press.

The existence of the unsecured internet connection is the latest revelation about Hegseth’s use of the unclassified app and raises the possibility that sensitive defense information could have been put at risk of potential hacking or surveillance.

Known as a “dirty” internet line by the IT industry, it connects directly to the public internet where the user’s information and the websites accessed do not have the same security filters or protocols that the Pentagon’s secured connections maintain.

Other Pentagon offices have used them, particularly if there’s a need to monitor information or websites that would otherwise be blocked.

Hegseth had an unsecured internet line set up in his office to connect to Signal, AP sources say
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer.

https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-signal-chat-dirty-internet-line-6a64707f10ca553eb905e5a70e10bd9d

CBS News: Hegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for television appearances, multiple sources told CBS News. 

The price tag for the project was several thousand dollars, according to two of the sources, at a time when the administration is searching for cost-cutting measures. 

Anyone for lipstick on a pig?

Hegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not given any press briefings in the briefing room but has used the room as a backdrop for TV hits with Fox News.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hegseth-orders-makeup-studio-installed-pentagon

New York Times: Under Hegseth, Chaos Prevails at the Pentagon

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The defense secretary’s inner circle is in disarray, and distrust is growing among civil servants and senior military officials.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon in January with almost no government experience and huge ambitions to remake the way the military was being run.

In just three months in office, Mr. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has instead produced a run of chaos that is unmatched in the recent history of the Defense Department.

Mr. Hegseth’s inner circle of close advisers — military veterans who, like him, had little experience running large, complex organizations — is in a shambles. Three members of the team he brought with him into the Pentagon were accused last week of leaking unauthorized information and escorted from the building.

A fourth recently departed member of Mr. Hegseth’s team, John Ullyot, who had been his top spokesman, accused Mr. Hegseth of disloyalty and incompetence in an opinion essay in Politico on Sunday. “The building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership,” Mr. Ullyot wrote.

The discord, according to current and former defense officials, includes: screaming matches in his inner office among aides; a growing distrust of the thousands of military and civilian personnel who staff the building; and bureaucratic logjams that have slowed down progress on some of President Trump’s key priorities, such as an “Iron Dome for America” missile-defense shield. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal business.

Cry me a river! Even better, resign and self-deport to somewhere, anywhere!

https://archive.is/I0kbS

Washington Post: Pete Hegseth, isolated and defiant, has Trump’s backing for now

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A dirtbag that only King Donald would keep around:

President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed a deepening controversy surrounding Pete Hegseth, declaring the embattled defense secretary is “doing a great job” despite seismic dysfunction within the Pentagon amid political infighting, numerous firings, and reports he divulged to his wife, brother and lawyer the highly sensitive details of an imminent military operation.

Pete Hegseth, isolated and defiant, has Trump’s backing for now
Officials say the unraveling of Hegseth’s inner circle is cause for alarm, leaving some to wonder how the Pentagon would function in a national security crisis.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ar-AA1DlEUv

WCCO Radio: Hegseth had a second Signal chat where he shared details of Yemen strike

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth created another Signal messaging chat that included his wife and brother where he shared similar details of a March military airstrike against Yemen’s Houthi militants that were sent in another chain with top Trump administration leaders, both The New York Times reported and CBS News has confirmed.

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The second chat on Signal — which is a commercially available app not authorized to be used to communicate sensitive or classified national defense information — included 13 people, the person said. The person also confirmed the chat was dubbed “Defense ‘ Team Huddle.”

The New York Times reported that the group included Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, who is a former Fox News producer, and his brother Phil Hegseth, who was hired at the Pentagon as a Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior adviser. Both have traveled with the defense secretary and attended high-level meetings.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/hegseth-had-a-second-signal-chat-where-he-shared-details-of-yemen-strike/ar-AA1DjQgV

New York Times: U.S. Military Removes Commander of Greenland Base After Vance Visit

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Although the military did not say why the colonel had been dismissed, it said it would not tolerate any subversion of President Trump’s agenda.

The U.S. military announced on Thursday that it had removed the commander of its Pituffik base in Greenland, adding that it would not tolerate any actions that go against President Trump’s agenda.

The decision to remove Col. Susannah Meyers was announced in a statement by the U.S. Space Force that was posted on social media by Sean Parnell, the chief spokesman for the Pentagon.

While the statement didn’t cite a specific reason for her removal, Mr. Parnell said that “actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Trump’s agenda will not be tolerated.”

What happened was that J.D. Dunce made insulting comments with regard to Denmark, of which Greenland is part, during his recent visit. After his departure, the commander apologized for the buffoon’s remarks.

Also noteworthy was that Dunce’s visit was limited to the military base, because not a single Greenlander wanted to be see with the Dunces.

https://archive.is/dVfEM

NBC News: Pete Hegseth senior adviser is pushing for Pentagon to cut ties with Scouting America

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Critics like the adviser, a former Fox News producer, say the group formerly known as the Boy Scouts is too “woke.” No decision has been made.

What an ignorant ass! Boy Scouts are a public corporation established by an act of Congress — 36 USC Ch. 309: BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA. If you don’t like it, you can either suck it up or go stick your head in the sand somewhere.

Pete Hegseth senior adviser is pushing for Pentagon to cut ties with Scouting America
Critics like the adviser, a former Fox News producer, say the group formerly known as the Boy Scouts is too “woke.” No decision has been made.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/pete-hegseth-senior-adviser-pushing-pentagon-cut-ties-scouting-america-rcna200141

New York Times: The Message Pete Hegseth Sends the Troops

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Last week’s shocking report that Mr. Hegseth shared sensitive information about a yet-to-be-launched air attack in Yemen on an unclassified messaging app is now straining the limits of his credibility as an everyman — and his fitness to lead the American military’s 2.1 million service members.

Americans stationed across the globe know if they violate similar security protocols, they can expect swift reprimand, the loss of security clearance and perhaps a court-martial. In his first departmentwide message on Jan. 25, Mr. Hegseth told troops he was a firm believer in holding everyone to account. “Our standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear,” he wrote. Now those same operational security standards don’t appear to apply to him. What message is sent to American troops if that imbalance continues?

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For now, the affair raises profound questions about whether Mr. Hegseth can handle an actual national security crisis, after he’s managed to blunder into such a major unforced error.

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It’s difficult to imagine that two of his recent predecessors, Jim Mattis and Lloyd J. Austin III, who retired six ranks above Mr. Hegseth as four-star generals, would have copy and pasted such details onto a publicly available app. It’s not that either man flawlessly executed the role of defense secretary, but at least they were accountable…. Mr. Hegseth, so far, hasn’t shown that he is willing to admit any fault. Instead, he has taken a defiant tone, attacking Mr. Goldberg’s credibility and arguing that “nobody was texting war plans.”

Opinion | The Message Pete Hegseth Sends the Troops – The New York Times