'Far too casual': Quick rise of Hegseth's most trusted aide 'raised eyebrows' in Pentagon

A Marine Corps colonel who has rapidly risen into defense secretary Pete Hegseth's inner circle has been identified as a key player in the Signalgate scandal.

The defense secretary has been plagued by scandal since revelations last month that he had used the non-secure Signal app to discuss top-secret military plans, and CNN reported that a uniformed military aide surprised senior Pentagon by requesting an exception to department policy by allowing Hegseth to continue using the commercially available app for official business.