'Unsettling': Analyst's jaw drops as Hegseth delivers eye-popping line with straight face

MSNBC editor Steve Benen couldn't believe the words that came out of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's mouth Tuesday regarding his handling of classified information.

Hegseth spent part of the morning on Fox News defending his use of the unsecured Signal chat app to disseminate the timing and coordinates of a Houthi airstrike in Yemen.

Benen referenced a clip in which Hegseth said, "There's a reason why our nation's most closely held secrets are contained in certain places with only access from certain people. Nobody takes that more seriously than me."

The Defense secretary added, "If there’s one thing I’ve sort of been offended by — I don’t get offended by much; I’m here to do my job for the president, for the country — is this idea that I don’t take classification or I don’t take clearances seriously. Nobody takes it more seriously than me.”

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In an article for MSNBC.com, Benen said Hegseth's "mishandling" of classified information was a subject Hegseth "probably should’ve avoided."

Benen recapped the "Signalgate" controversy that began in March when the aforementioned chat was inadvertently shared with a journalist for The Atlantic.

Benen then dissected the message, which included the words, "‘We are currently clean on OPSEC,'” short for "operations security."

"Of course, we now know that Team Trump was most certainly not 'clean on OPSEC,' Hegseth’s embarrassing boast notwithstanding," Benen wrote.

Benen also mentioned the second Signalgate scandal involving Hegseth's wife and brother, and cited reporting by The Wall Street Journal "that Hegseth used the Signal messaging app for official Pentagon business more extensively than had been previously disclosed, 'engaging in at least a dozen separate chats.'”

Benen concluded, "It was against this backdrop that Hegseth told a national television audience that 'nobody' takes the protection of classified information 'more seriously' than he does. Among the many unsettling angles to this incident: The defense secretary managed to deliver the line with a straight face."

President Donald Trump has defended Hegseth, painting him as a victim of "fake news."

Read the MSNBC article here.