Pete Hegseth’s Furious Vow To ‘Identify And Prosecute Leakers’ Backfires Spectacularly

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared a so-called war on leakers Tuesday morning, only to be put on the defensive after many, many people pointed out his previous problems with guarding national security.

Hegseth vowed in a message posted to X, “to combat the dangers that leaks pose, effective immediately,” by empowering the Department of Defense’s Office of General Counsel “to request and receive all information, records, and support across the Department concerning media leak investigations.”

Don’t worry: Hegseth made sure to caption the clip partially in all-caps to, you know, let people know he apparently wasn’t playing around:

To leak sensitive national defense information is to betray our warriors and put them in danger.

That’s why the @DEPTOFWAR and @THEJUSTICEDEPT have created a joint task force to IDENTIFY AND PROSECUTE LEAKERS.

To leak sensitive national defense information is to betray our warriors and put them in danger.

That’s why the @DEPTOFWAR and @THEJUSTICEDEPT have created a joint task force to IDENTIFY AND PROSECUTE LEAKERS. pic.twitter.com/pMqXuo21Mm

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) July 13, 2026

Sadly for Hegseth, his announcement to go after leakers was brutally mocked for his short memory.

Many critics recalled that in 2025, national security advisor Michael Waltz accidentally added Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat about war strikes in Yemen and other sensitive national security matters.

Hegseth called Goldberg’s revelation a “hoax,” and insisted no war plans were revealed in the chat, a comment the journalist told CNN was “a lie.”

Many social media users responded to Hegseth’s post on Tuesday with snark, and receipts including CNN’s Jake Tapper.

I know of one leak that put our brave pilots at risk!

Pentagon IG: “Evaluation of the Secretary of Defense’s Reported Use of a Commercially Available Messaging Application”https://t.co/GJyRjc9EEM

1/ https://t.co/wQop1YZGW8

— Jake Tapper 🦅 (@jaketapper) July 13, 2026

Others piled on as well.

So are you going to arrest yourself then? https://t.co/7WuxWeh0ME

— Boston Smalls (@smalls2672) July 13, 2026

You mean like when you discussed war plans in your easily-hackable Signal group chat? https://t.co/yThdejTxYM

— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) July 13, 2026

We have identified one. https://t.co/1bQHuspjXq pic.twitter.com/Dr9bGsuTQO

— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) July 13, 2026

Well this is awkward… https://t.co/ldkSM3k6X1 pic.twitter.com/nIUa0ok7cJ

— Andrew—#IAmTheResistance (@AmoneyResists) July 13, 2026

No one should ever unlawfully disclose classified info, but “national defense information” as defined per Espionage Act can be unclassified & whistleblower disclosures can be lawfully protected.

This is why @wbaidlaw exists to lawfully guide fed employees. Reach out to us. https://t.co/x8f8fXh9vA

— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) July 13, 2026

Hegseth has evicted news orgs from Pentagon workspaces, imposed mandatory escorts on reporters, and required journalists to pledge they’ll seek official approval for stories (reporters refused and walked out).

And still the leaks and damning stories continue.

Hegseth has failed https://t.co/tRLJpaU13O

— Paul Farhi (@farhip) July 13, 2026

Has anyone checked Pete Hegseth’s Signal app lately? https://t.co/KsEIV4cPYj

— Grant Stern (@grantstern) July 13, 2026

as a reminder this is the same makeup wearing yahoo that texted top secret Houthi attack plans to a civilian reporter in a group chat that also included his WIFE and BROTHER.

If you wanna find the incompetent leaker – look in the mirror @SecWar . https://t.co/7o7CsZC4QV

— JerryRigEverything (@ZacksJerryRig) July 13, 2026

Complete clown show. Two camera shoots with makeup and dramatic lighting in his “office” instead of actually running the DOD. https://t.co/e1quyDgH93

— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) July 13, 2026

HuffPost reached out to Hegseth for comment on the snarky responses to the post, but no one immediately responded.

Meanwhile, Goldberg, whose story in the Atlantic exposed the Defense Department’s lax security, responded to Hegseth’s post with one very telling emoji.