Stebbins started the review in response to a #bipartisan request from Sen Roger Wicker of MS, the #Republican chair of the #ArmedServices Cmte, & the committee’s ranking #Democrat, Sen Jack Reed of RI.

Beyond the controversy of the #Signal chat, #Hegseth’s office has been shaken by the sudden firings of Caldwell, Selnick & Colin Carroll, all top advisers to the #defense secy. They were escorted from the #Pentagon last week after being accused of leaking sensitive info.

Several of these staff members encouraged #Hegseth to move the work-related matters in the “Defense | Team Huddle” chat to his government phone. But Hegseth never made the transition, acc/to some of the people familiar w/the chat who spoke on condition of anonymity….

The #Pentagon’s acting inspector general announced earlier this month that he would review Hegseth’s Yemen strike disclosures on the #Signal chat that included top #Trump aides.

It was unclear how #Hegseth, a veteran & former Fox New host who before his confirmation in January had never previously served in a high-level government position, responded to those warnings.

Many of those in Hegseth’s inner circle during his first months in the #Pentagon were combat veterans w/deep experience in the #military but little firsthand knowledge of how the government operates at the highest levels.

Parlatore, who has been #Hegseth’s personal atty for the last 8 yrs, was commissioned as a Navy commander in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps about a week before the Yemen strikes were initiated.

In an interview before rejoining the military, Parlatore told NYT that he would work w/Hegseth’s office to improve training for the military’s uniformed lawyers.

Hegseth’s brother Phil works inside the #Pentagon as a liaison to #DHS & as a snr adviser to the #defense secy.

The chat also included two senior advisers to #Hegseth — Dan Caldwell and= Darin Selnick — who were accused of leaking unauthorized information last week and were fired. Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Selnick were among three former top #Pentagon officials who proclaimed their innocence in a public statement on Saturday in response to the leak inquiry that led to their dismissals.

“The truth is that there is an informal group chat that started before confirmation of his closest advisers,” the official said. “Nothing classified was ever discussed on that chat.”

Sean Parnell, the chief #Pentagon spox, did not respond to requests for comment.

The “Defense/Team Huddle” #Signal chat until recently included about a dozen of #Hegseth’s top aides, including Joe Kasper, Hegseth’s chief of staff, & Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spox.