The Pentagon’s inspector general has initiated an investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s utilization of the Signal messaging app to exchange information about U.S. military operations in Yemen with other national security officials.
The inquiry stems from requests made by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) for the watchdog agency to scrutinize Hegseth’s messages and involvement in the chat group. National security adviser Mike Waltz established the chat in March to coordinate the Trump administration’s strategies for strikes against the Houthis and inadvertently included a journalist.
Compliance Evaluation
Acting Pentagon Inspector General Steven Stebbins articulated that the objective of this assessment is to ascertain the adherence of the Secretary of Defense and other DOD personnel to departmental policies and procedures regarding the use of a commercial messaging platform for official business. The watchdog agency will also investigate whether Hegseth abided by the Pentagon’s guidelines for transmitting classified information through authorized channels and adhered to federal regulations on record retention. Notably, the Signal messages were programmed to auto-delete within four weeks.
Content of Concern
According to messages reviewed by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, Hegseth disclosed details such as the precise launch timings of U.S. fighter jets, enemy targets, and munitions, information that is typically classified. Although Hegseth has denied divulging war plans or classified data, this disclosure raised alarms among national security officials. Various House and Senate Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), have called for Hegseth’s removal.
While the White House has stated that further investigations into the incident have ceased, reports from POLITICO suggest that Waltz orchestrated around 20 group chats to coordinate the foreign policy initiatives of the Trump administration.
