Hegseth Spox Calls For ‘Severe Punishment’ For Washington Post Journalists
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Joel Valdez, the acting deputy press secretary for the Department of Defense, took to social media on Wednesday to rage against recent Washington Post reporting on the cost of Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “expansive” security detail.
“WaPo intentionally published sensitive details of @SecDef’s security detail for him and his family – putting their safety at risk,” Valdez posted on X, adding:
There should be severe punishment for what @TaraCopp, @DanLamothe, and @AlexHortonTX are doing.
The Post published a bombshell scoop on Wednesday morning titled, “Hegseth’s expansive security requirements tax Army protective unit.” The report carried the byline of the three prominent journalists that Valdez called for “ severe punishment for”: Tara Copp, Alex Horton, and Dan Lamothe.
The report, based on “more than a dozen interviews,” explains that Hegseth’s “unusually large personal security requirements are straining the Army agency tasked with protecting him as it pulls agents from criminal investigations to safeguard family residences in Minnesota, Tennessee and D.C.”
The report quoted sources inside the Pentagon as saying, “I’ve never seen this many security teams for one guy. Nobody has.”
The Post report also addressed Valdez’s concerns in its initial publication, noting, “The Washington Post withheld several sensitive details gathered in the course of reporting this article, including the size of Hegseth’s protective details and the precise locations where they are assigned.”
Hegseth’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, also attacked the report, saying, “In the wake of two assassinations (sic) attempts against President Trump, ICE agents facing a 1000% increase in assaults, and repeated threats of retaliation from Iran for striking their nuclear capabilities, it’s astonishing that the Washington Post is criticizing a high-ranking cabinet official for receiving appropriate security protection, especially after doxxing the DHS Secretary last week.”
“Any action pertaining to the security of Secretary Hegseth and his family has been in response to the threat environment and at the full recommendation the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID),” added Parnell.
