Washington (TDI): The Pentagon’s independent watchdog has found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have put American forces at risk by using the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss planned strikes on Yemen, US media reported on Wednesday.
According to people familiar with the findings, the inspector general’s investigation concluded that Hegseth did not break classification rules because he has the authority to declassify information. Even so, the review, which has now been sent to Congress, is expected to reignite scrutiny of Hegseth, who is already facing criticism over US attacks on suspected drug-smuggling vessels, actions some analysts believe amounted to extrajudicial killings.
The inquiry began after The Atlantic revealed in late March that its editor-in-chief was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat where senior US officials, including Hegseth and then–national security adviser Mike Waltz, were discussing strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
While the magazine initially refrained from publishing the contents of the chat, it later released the messages after the White House insisted that no classified details had been shared and accused editor Jeffrey Goldberg of dishonesty.
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Messages from the chat reportedly showed Hegseth mentioning the timing of strikes several hours before they were carried out, along with details of aircraft and missiles used. Waltz is said to have shared real-time intelligence about the aftermath of the attacks.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell reacted to the inspector general’s report on X, calling it “a TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth.”
Waltz had also set some of the Signal messages to auto-delete after a week or, in some cases, after four weeks, raising concerns about whether federal records obligations had been breached.
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President Donald Trump rejected calls to remove Hegseth and instead placed responsibility on Waltz. Waltz was ultimately removed from his role as national security adviser and reassigned as the US ambassador to the United Nations.
