Pete Hegseth Reveals What’s Coming For Government Leakers

War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that the Department of War and the Department of Justice have created a joint task force to identify and prosecute government officials accused of leaking sensitive national defense information.

In a video posted on X, Hegseth said unauthorized disclosures can endanger American troops, compromise military operations, and cause “exceptionally grave damage” to national security.

“The unauthorized disclosure of sensitive War Department information has the very real potential to cause exceptionally grave damage to our national security and the operational integrity of our armed forces,” Hegseth said. “To leak sensitive national defense information and secrets betrays the men and women who wear our nation’s uniform.”

Hegseth said that when a leak occurs, it is critical for the department to quickly provide the Department of Justice, FBI, and other federal law enforcement agencies with actionable information.

According to Hegseth, the new directive expands the authority of the War Department’s Office of General Counsel to obtain records and other information related to leak investigations and requires department personnel to respond within 48 hours.

“The security of our nation cannot be a bargaining chip for those who seek momentary headlines,” Hegseth said. “Access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust. And those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law.”

The announcement comes as the Trump administration continues pursuing multiple investigations into leaks involving sensitive national security information. 

The announcement follows several recent investigations in which Trump administration officials said unauthorized disclosures threatened national security.

One recent investigation centered on media reports that two U.S. service members had gone down inside Iran during U.S. military operations earlier this year. One airman had been rescued while search efforts continued for a second.

President Donald Trump later said those reports placed the rescue operation “at great risk” because they alerted Iran that an American service member remained inside the country.

“All of a sudden, the entire country of Iran knew that there was a pilot that was somewhere on their land that was fighting for his life,” Trump said.

Trump also said the disclosure made the rescue mission more difficult for American personnel. According to Trump, the second service member was eventually rescued during an operation involving 155 U.S. aircraft. Trump said his administration was attempting to identify the source of the leak.

Another investigation involves a New York Times report detailing why Trump departed Turkey aboard the older Air Force One instead of the newly accepted Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar.

According to The Daily Wire, citing federal law enforcement sources, a senior FBI official urged the New York Times not to publish the story, warning that it contained highly sensitive national security information. The news outlet ultimately published the report, citing unnamed sources discussing the aircraft’s security protocols.

The Justice Department later issued grand jury subpoenas to four New York Times reporters connected to the story. A DOJ spokesman told The Daily Wire, “Reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”