Overview
- An unclassified DoD inspector general report found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a nonapproved messaging app on his personal phone to share nonpublic operational details, violating department policy.
- The report said some March 15 messages matched U.S. Central Command information marked SECRET//NOFORN, with no evidence of a declassification request.
- Investigators concluded the disclosures created operational risk by revealing timing, platforms and strike specifics, including a line stating, “THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP.”
- The inquiry was constrained after Hegseth declined an interview and refused to provide his phone, leading the IG to rely on partial phone copies and The Atlantic’s published transcript due to Signal’s auto-delete settings.
- Rather than discipline, the IG urged a review of classification procedures and improved senior-official training, even as congressional oversight intensifies and a report screenshot shows Vice President J. D. Vance later texting the group, “This chat’s kind of dead. Anything going on?”