Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has unleashed a new task force to hunt down officials who leak sensitive information after a series of embarrassing disclosures rocked the Trump administration.
In a video announcement posted to X, Hegseth said the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice had created a joint task force to “identify and prosecute leakers,” warning that anyone caught disclosing sensitive military information will face “the full force of the law.”
“Leaked information risks lives,” he 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 Pentagon will also expand the authority of its Office of General Counsel, allowing it to demand records and assistance from every department component during media leak investigations. Hegseth said all requests must receive “a full and complete response within 48 hours.”
“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.”
While Hegseth did not say what had prompted the creation of the taskforce, the announcement follows a series of leaks from the Pentagon, which have seemingly left Hegseth raging.
Last week, a defense official and emails shared with CNN revealed that Hegseth was left fuming after he boarded a Navy ship in June for what was supposed to be a routine visit, only to discover that multiple sailors were ignoring his demand that all service members be clean-shaven.
After learning that many rank-and-file troops had ignored his directive discouraging beards, the macho image-obsessed Hegseth reportedly ordered Pentagon officials to convene a series of meetings reminding military personnel of his grooming standards and other workplace expectations.
“Want to bring to your attention that the SecWar is paying close attention to the progress of the EEO [Equal Employment Opportunity] reforms,” a Pentagon official emailed colleagues in June.
“In fact, the push is to move faster… there is a need to revamp some of our timelines.”
Hegseth’s clampdown on beards in the military has been central to the former Fox & Friends Weekend host’s campaign against what he sees as the “woke” decay of the armed forces.
“We don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans,” Hegseth said during a September 2025 speech to several hundred officers at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
“No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression,” he added. “We’re going to cut our hair, shave our beards, and adhere to standards.”
Meanwhile, data leaked to The Washington Post in May revealed that U.S. forces were expending more resources defending Israel from missile strikes than Israeli forces themselves.
A separate leak in May also challenged Trump’s victory lap over Iran. Reuters reported that U.S. intelligence still assessed Tehran was up to a year away from producing a nuclear weapon—the same estimate as before last June’s strikes, despite Trump’s repeated claims the attacks had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
When asked why intelligence assessments reportedly showed Iran’s nuclear timeline had not changed despite the U.S. bombing campaign, Hegseth sidestepped the question.
“We don’t discuss the specifics about intel, and anybody that does shouldn’t be,” he said, adding, “I can’t confirm or deny whether that is, indeed, correct.” He then dismissed the report altogether, accusing the journalist of relying on “speculation,” saying: “Speculation as far as I’m concerned, coming from you.”
The Trump administration has often been plagued by leaks. The 80-year-old president has been fuming over revelations in Regime Change, the book New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman co-authored with fellow Times reporter Jonathan Swan.
Among other things, the book revealed that Trump leaves huge amounts of trash in his bedroom because of all the snacks he eats.
Sources familiar with the matter told Zeteo the disclosure “absolutely infuriated” Trump.
According to Zeteo’s First Draft newsletter, Trump has branded the bedroom-eating claims as being “libel” and said all the leaks are an invasion of his privacy.
Trump has also described Haberman and Swan’s book as “fake news,” but has provided no evidence to disprove its claims.
