Before the United States bombed Iran on February 28th, the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, tried to make a “defense investment.” Hegseth’s broker sought to make a large investment in major defense companies in the lead-up to the Iran war, and the Pentagon has dismissed this allegation as false.
According to a report by The Financial Times [behind a paywall], the investment discussed by Hegseth’s broker ultimately did not go ahead because the fund was not yet available for Morgan Stanley clients to buy at the time. It is unclear whether the broker found another defense-related investment.
Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell dismissed the report in a post on X, calling it “entirely false and fabricated,” and demanding the FT retract the article.
This allegation is entirely false and fabricated. Neither Secretary Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock about any such investment. This is yet another baseless, dishonest smear designed to mislead the public.
We demand an immediate retraction.… https://t.co/Su8hGlBOhL
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) March 30, 2026
Parnell said that neither Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock about any such investment. “This is yet another baseless, dishonest smear designed to mislead the public,” he added.
Hegseth’s broker at banking giant Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in its iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF. At the time of request, this was not available to Morgan Stanely clients, which is why the FT alleges that the investment did not go through.
Or is Hegseth just attempting to hide the fact that he knew the war was coming and he intended to profit from it? It seems like that is much more likely than this is a “baseless” allegation.
In fact, the infamous Christian Nationalist has already been in hot water for his refusal to separate church and state. But this is what happens when the state is your church, and your church is your state. Things look great for Hegesth, but not so optimistic for the rest of America.
Christian Nationalism Intensifies: US Troops Told War Is “God’s Plan”