US Division of Protection calls for retraction of report alleging dealer sought multimillion-dollar funding for Hegseth.
Printed On 31 Mar 2026
America Division of Protection has demanded the retraction of a newspaper report alleging {that a} dealer for defence chief Pete Hegseth tried to make a big funding in weapons corporations within the run-up to the conflict on Iran.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell demanded the “speedy” retraction on Monday after The Monetary Occasions reported {that a} wealth supervisor for the defence secretary contacted BlackRock about making a multimillion-dollar funding in a defence-related fund within the weeks main as much as the conflict.
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Hegseth’s dealer at Morgan Stanley finally didn’t go forward with the funding within the exchange-traded fund, whose holdings embody Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, as a result of it was not but accessible for buy on the time, The Monetary Occasions reported, citing three unnamed sources.
“This allegation is totally false and fabricated. Neither Secretary Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock about any such funding,” Parnell mentioned in a publish on social media.
“That is yet one more baseless, dishonest smear designed to mislead the general public.”
Hegseth and his division “stay unwavering of their dedication to the very best requirements of ethics and strict adherence to all relevant legal guidelines and laws,” Parnell mentioned.
Al Jazeera couldn’t independently verify the Monetary Occasions report.
The Protection Division didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark despatched exterior of ordinary enterprise hours.
The Monetary Occasions and Morgan Stanley additionally didn’t instantly reply to inquiries.
BlackRock declined to remark.
The report comes amid scrutiny of well-timed trades in monetary and prediction markets which have fuelled hypothesis that figures with insider information could also be profiting off of US President Donald Trump’s conflict plans.
Whereas The Monetary Occasions reported that the tried funding by Hesgeth’s dealer didn’t go forward, the defence chief wouldn’t have made cash on such a purchase order within the month because the conflict started.
Whereas the iShares Protection Industrials Lively ETF has risen greater than 25 % over the previous 12 months, it has fallen almost 13 % because the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28.
