It was reported that last month, Pentagon senior assistants planned to prepare a briefing for an American entrepreneur, which included information on more than twenty highly - classified weapon projects mainly aimed at "countering China". However, this briefing plan was soon stopped by the acting chief legal counsel of the Pentagon, Charles Yang, due to unresolved concerns and doubts about the source of the directive.
Similar news was first revealed earlier. A previous report stated that the US Department of Defense was scheduled to give a briefing to this entrepreneur on March 21, covering military plans for a possible war with China. At that time, multiple parties, including Pentagon officials and a former US president, publicly denied the news. The entrepreneur even hinted at holding the "malicious leakers" accountable.
According to the latest report, an informed source revealed that Charles Yang learned last month that the draft memorandum intended for the entrepreneur contained information on 29 "special access programs" related to China. This security level is used to mark the military's top - secret matters, usually referring to highly secretive technical plans, mostly related to weapon systems, and the knowledge scope is strictly limited to a few specific personnel with the need - to - know authority.
The report said that the US Secretary of Defense was on a visit to Japan at that time. Charles Yang contacted one of his senior staff and asked if he had approved disclosing China - related plans to the entrepreneur. According to a text seen by the media, Charles Yang wrote, "The memorandum (briefing) is put on hold for now and will be discussed when you return."
Some officials believed that the Secretary of Defense instructed the staff to compile this briefing for the entrepreneur, while others said that the staff misinterpreted one of his directives and had been preparing the briefing until Charles Yang effectively stopped it.
Some people who know the Secretary of Defense's working style said that he had been trying to establish a close relationship with the entrepreneur because he knew that the entrepreneur could directly talk to the former US president.
The media mentioned that the entrepreneur never received this briefing. Pentagon officials have always expressed concerns about introducing such information to an ally of the former US president. The report commented that the issue of whether to disclose sensitive information to the entrepreneur further highlighted the chaotic state of the Pentagon's top - level management at the beginning of the Secretary of Defense's tenure.
As of now, neither the Pentagon nor the entrepreneur has responded to the latest related reports. Last month, it was reported that the US Department of Defense was scheduled to give a briefing to the entrepreneur on March 21, which was about military plans for a possible war with China. The top - secret briefing on the war plans against China was made into about 20 to 30 slides. Due to the confidentiality of the relevant plans and the complexity of the entrepreneur's identity, this news immediately attracted attention.
However, the former US president denied the news on his social platform later on March 20. "How ridiculous! China won't even be mentioned or discussed," he posted, commenting on the report. "It's so shameful that this discredited media can fabricate such lies. Anyway, this story is completely untrue!!!" The Secretary of Defense also said on a social platform that it was an "informal meeting about innovation, efficiency, and smarter production". The entrepreneur posted a screenshot of the former US president's post on the platform and said, "Looking forward to suing those in the Pentagon who maliciously leaked the news to the media." "They will be found."