Pentagon Watchdog Finds Hegseth’s Signal Use Put U.S. Troops and Missions at Risk

Overview

• A confidential inspector general report was delivered to Congress on December 2, with a partially redacted public version expected shortly.
• The review concludes that Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the commercial app Signal for Yemen strike planning created operational risk by exposing sensitive details outside authorized DoD channels.
• Messages in the March 15 Signal chats shared a detailed strike timeline and information on aircraft and munitions hours before operations, and a second group included family members and Hegseth’s personal lawyer.
• Hegseth declined an interview and provided few Signal messages, leading investigators to rely heavily on screenshots published by The Atlantic and to flag potential Federal Records Act retention failures.
• The White House says no classified information was leaked and a Pentagon spokesman called the outcome a “total exoneration,” while separate bipartisan congressional probes continue into September Caribbean strikes.