Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth invited his wife to meetings where classified information was discussed: WSJ
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly taken his wife, Jennifer Hegseth, with him to official meetings with representatives of foreign military agencies, during which matters involving confidential or even secret information were discussed. About this informs edition of The Wall Street Journal with reference to informed sources.
In particular, one of such discussions, as noted by the interlocutors of the journalists, took place on March 6 during Hegseth’s meeting with the Minister of Defense of Great Britain, John Geely. The conversation took place the day after Washington publicly announced the end of intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Despite the sensitivity of the topic, the American minister’s wife was present at the negotiations.
According to the WSJ, although the heads of the defense departments formally have the right to invite outsiders to the meetings, the lists of participants are usually limited to those directly involved in the negotiations and have the appropriate level of access to classified information. As specified, Jennifer Hegset does not have any official status in the Pentagon and does not have access to such information.
In addition, the minister’s wife was spotted at another meeting — this time at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. There, with the participation of representatives of the defense departments of the member countries of the Alliance, the issue of military aid to Ukraine was discussed. The meeting participants noticed the presence of Jennifer Hegseth, but many of them did not even know who she was or why she was in the meeting room. Despite this, no official comments on this matter were voiced, and the meeting continued in working order.
The Wall Street Journal emphasizes that in the conditions of growing tension in the field of international security, this behavior of the head of the US defense department raises questions about compliance with the protocol and preservation of the confidentiality regime during interstate negotiations.
