The War Department and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have launched a joint task force to investigate and prosecute anyone involved in leaking sensitive information to the media, War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on July 13.
“Access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X. “And those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law.”
The reporters were called to testify before a federal grand jury for allegedly violating federal criminal law, according to The New York Times.
Hegseth did not mention the past week’s incident but spoke in general about threats that leaks pose to national security and the U.S. military.
“As you know, we live in a dynamic and a dangerous threat environment where access to and accumulation of closely held information is key to understanding our world,” Hegseth said.
“The unauthorized disclosure of 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.
“To leak national defense information and secrets betrays the men and women who wear our nation’s uniform. It’s a principle as old as war. And in the United States, it goes back to the founding of our republic. George Washington himself battled leaks, insider threats, and espionage.”
The Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel will operate the task force, which took effect immediately, Hegseth said. As part of its authority, the office can request any records, information, and investigations from any department.
All requests will be prioritized and must be completed within 48 hours, the secretary said.
“When a leak of department information occurs today, it’s critical that we provide the Department of Justice and other partners in federal law enforcement, including the FBI, with actionable information as quickly as possible,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth has chastised media outlets during Trump’s second term for publishing leaked information.
In June 2025, the secretary criticized The New York Times and media other outlets that published a preliminary report about U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities that said the strikes set back the country’s program only by a few months.
He said that the “classified information is leaked or peddled for political purposes to try to make the president look bad.”
The New York Times responded to the administration’s allegations, saying the paper would not be walking back its report or apologizing for reporting on the story after Trump threatened to sue.
Hegseth also fired a Department of the Army nuclear chief in April after he was allegedly caught revealing confidential national security information to an undercover reporter.
