US Defense Official's Wife's Attendance at Classified Meetings Raises Concerns

According to disclosures on March 29, the US Defense official, Hegdahl, has twice brought his wife to meetings discussing classified information, further fueling outside doubts about the way Trump administration officials handle classified information.

Reports indicate that Hegdahl's wife, Jennifer Hegdahl, recently attended a meeting between US and UK defense officials discussing Ukraine issues and bilateral military cooperation, and also participated in a closed - door meeting at NATO headquarters regarding Ukraine. Both meetings involved a large amount of classified information. Some foreign officials present did not recognize her, while others were surprised by her presence.

Given the sensitivity of the meeting content, participants usually require security clearances. Jennifer Hegdahl was formerly a producer at a media outlet. The US Department of Defense spokesperson declined to disclose whether she had the security clearance to access this classified information.

The reports cited a former defense official as saying, "When discussing classified national security matters, one must be extremely cautious in selecting participants. What's the relevance of inviting this person?"

The "Group Chat Leak" incident in the US continues to intensify. On the 27th, a federal district judge demanded that the Trump administration preserve all chat records of classified group chats. Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have called on the Pentagon to investigate the government officials' use of a messaging app to discuss sensitive military operations.