Additional Coverage:
- IG: Hegseth broke Pentagon rules using Signal to share strike details, though no classified info was released (foxnews.com)
Pentagon Report Flags Secretary Hegseth for Using Personal Phone on Sensitive Matters
A new report from the Pentagon’s Inspector General has concluded that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth violated department policy by using his personal phone and the encrypted messaging app Signal to send sensitive, nonpublic information regarding military strikes. The report, while acknowledging Hegseth’s broad authority to classify or declassify information, states that his actions risked operational security.
According to the findings, Hegseth’s actions on March 15, when he messaged a Signal chat that included an un-cleared journalist, closely mirrored timelines found in a “SECRET//NOFORN” operational email from Central Command. Department protocol specifically bars officials from conducting government business on personal devices and from using commercial messaging applications to transmit nonpublic Pentagon information.
Investigators noted that Hegseth’s messages, sent approximately two to four hours before U.S. forces carried out coordinated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, “risks potential compromise” and “could cause harm to DoD personnel and mission objectives.” The report emphasizes that while these adverse outcomes did not ultimately occur, the Secretary’s actions created a significant risk to operational security, potentially jeopardizing U.S. mission objectives and the safety of pilots.
In response to the report, a chief spokesperson for the War Department stated, “This Inspector General review is a TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth and proves what we knew all along – no classified information was shared. This matter is resolved, and the case is closed.”
The report details that Hegseth monitored the Yemen strikes from a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at his home and communicated with U.S. CENTCOM via classified channels before posting what he described as an unclassified “summary” to the Signal group.
Furthermore, several Pentagon officials informed investigators that Hegseth participated in other Signal group chats, including one named “Defense Team Huddle,” where he assigned tasks, discussed internal matters, and on at least one occasion, shared similar operational information. The report also highlighted the installation of a special tethering system that allowed Hegseth to operate his personal phone from inside his secure Pentagon suite, with the device remaining physically outside the classified space. The IG could not confirm if this setup met security requirements.
The controversy initially surfaced when then-National Security Advisor Mike Waltz inadvertently added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a Cabinet-level Signal chat where Hegseth shared strike details. The IG determined that including a journalist in the chat “risked U.S. personnel and security.”
Additionally, due to the auto-deletion of many messages in the chat before they could be preserved, the report concluded that Hegseth violated federal record-keeping law, which mandates officials to forward records from nonofficial messaging accounts to their government accounts within 20 days.