key points
- Report finds that Hegseth’s use of Signal app could have put US missions and military at risk
- Review of Pentagon watchdog released to lawmakers on Wednesday
- Hegseth discussed the attack on Houthi militants in Yemen in a group chat on a commercial messaging app
- The Secretary of Defense is currently under investigation over deadly attacks on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put US troops and missions at risk when he used the Signal messaging app on his personal device to discuss planned strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen, a report from the Pentagon’s watchdog has found.
This is according to US media and news agencies including CNN and ABC. They cite sources familiar with the results of the investigation by the Pentagon’s inspector general, which has not yet been publicly released.
The report found that Hegseth did not violate classification rules because, as head of the Pentagon, he has the authority to declassify information, according to the sources.
But information on commercial apps was not supposed to be discussed, the report said. This is because the information was so sensitive that if it were withheld, the lives of American soldiers and the mission could be in danger.
Sources cited in the report said Hegseth refused to sit down for an interview with the inspector general. Instead, they provided written answers. He provided only a small number of his Signal messages for review.
According to sources, this means the investigation had to rely on screenshots published by The Atlantic magazine, whose editor-in-chief was accidentally added to the Signal chat.
The classified review was submitted to Congress on Tuesday evening.
A partially redacted version of the report is expected to be released publicly later this week, possibly Thursday.
Trump stands with Hegseth
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said the review confirms Trump administration statements that “no classified information was leaked, and operational security was not compromised.”
“President Trump stands with Secretary Hegseth,” Leavitt said in a statement Wednesday.
The Pentagon said the review exonerated Hegseth.
“This matter has been resolved and the matter has been closed,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to CNN.
Hegseth uses Signal to discuss Yemen attacks
Hegseth’s use of commercial messaging apps came to light when he was editor-in-chief atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to the Signal chat by then-National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
The signal is encrypted, but it is not authorized to carry classified information and is not part of the Defense Department’s secure communications network.
The group chat included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, as well as others.
Officials discussed March 15 military operations against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
The chats included messages in which Hegseth revealed the timing of the attack, hours before the attack, and information about the aircraft and missiles involved.
Waltz sent real-time intelligence following military operations.
It was later revealed that Hegseth had created a second Signal chat with 13 people including his wife and brother where they shared similar details of the same attack.
Edited by: Zack Crellin