The top Pentagon spokesman called the Department of Defense inspector general’s evaluation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s controversial use of Signal “a political witch hunt.”
“The Inspector General evaluation is clearly a political witch hunt by Biden administration holdovers as evidenced by [the] fact that they’ve already started leaking to the failing New York Times,” Sean Parnell, the department’s senior spokesman, told the Washington Examiner in a statement on Wednesday.
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Parnell did not provide any evidence to support the claim, and President Donald Trump fired the previous DOD Inspector General, Robert Storch, during his first days in office. Storch has since been replaced by Steven Stebbins, who is filling the vacancy in an acting capacity.
Hegseth has provided “a statement to the IG,” Parnell said, the first time he has addressed any communication between the evaluators and the secretary specifically. Hegseth’s statement to them “points out why this entire exercise is a sham, conducted in bad faith and with extreme bias.”
Parnell did not provide evidence to back up Hegseth’s argument that the evaluation is being conducted in “bad faith and with extreme bias.”
Mollie Halpern, a spokeswoman with the inspector general’s office, declined to comment, citing the office’s long-standing policy of not providing information on ongoing oversight projects.
The top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee asked the Pentagon’s IG to investigate Hegseth’s use of the Signal app. It’s unclear when they will conclude their evaluation and release their findings.
Parnell and Hegseth have repeatedly maintained that the secretary did not share classified intelligence in two separate Signal group chats ahead of planned military operations in Yemen.
The details he shared in the chat were relayed from a classified email sent to senior Pentagon officials, including Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, and it was marked “Secret/NORFORN,” meaning no foreign nationals should see it, according to the Washington Post.
One of the group chats included more than a dozen Cabinet officials. The chat was created by President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Mike Waltz, who also unknowingly added a journalist from the Atlantic.
The participants in the group chat debated in March whether the U.S. should begin a sustained military campaign against the Houthis, and days later, Hegseth shared details of the operation. He discussed the timing of strikes and what U.S. equipment and weapons would be used.
The Atlantic ultimately released the chat content. The second group chat included members of Hegseth’s family, including his wife and brother.
As Parnell criticizes the inspector general’s investigation, he has also denied reports and criticized the outlet responsible for it that Hegseth has been mulling a run for political office. NBC reported on Monday that the secretary had thought about entering Tennessee’s gubernatorial race next year.
“Fake news NBC is so desperate for attention, they are shopping around a made-up story… again. Only two options exist: either the ‘sources’ are imaginary or these reporters are getting punked,” he said. “Secretary Hegseth’s focus remains solely on serving under President Trump and advancing the America First mission at the Department of Defense. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
It’s unclear if Hegseth would meet the legal requirements to run for the position, including that the candidate has lived in the state for at least seven years. The Tennessee Republican Party bylaws also require any possible candidate to have voted in three of the last four statewide Republican primary elections in which the candidate is eligible to vote.
Hegseth’s first six months on the job have focused on fixing culture war issues such as ending diversity and inclusion efforts, jobs, and programs, banning people who suffer from gender dysphoria from enlisting, increasing the lethality of the forces, and playing a greater role in border security.
Hegseth and Trump have fired several senior officers with little explanation, including Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, former chief of naval operations, Gen. James Slife, the Air Force vice chief of staff, and the top military lawyers of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, known as Judge Advocates General.
Hegseth has also called for a significant shake-up in the structure of senior military leadership.
In May, the secretary directed a reduction of at least 20% of four-star positions across the active component, at least a 20% reduction of general officers in the National Guard, and an additional minimum of 10% cuts in general and flag officers. Multiple national security experts have expressed concerns that this could morph into a political litmus test to remove officers who do not share Trump and Hegseth’s opinions.
Hegseth called it the “most comprehensive review “since the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act, which reshaped the military and gave more power to U.S. commanders to plan and carry out military missions.
Hegseth did not specify a time frame but indicated it will come in two phases.
CONCERNS EMERGE FOUR-STAR GENERAL REDUCTION COULD BE ‘LOYALTY TEST’
In a departure from previous defense secretaries, Hegseth now requires all senior officers up for a promotion to four stars to meet with the president before their nominations are finalized, which was reported by the New York Times.
“President Trump wants to ensure our military is the greatest and most lethal fighting force in history, which is why he meets with four-star general nominees directly to ensure they are warfighters first – not bureaucrats,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told the Washington Examiner.