Pentagon Inspector General Finds Hegseth‘s Signal Chat May โคHave Compromised Military โOperation, Sources Say
A Pentagon Inspector General examination has reportedly found โขthat comments made by Fox โNews host Pete Hegseth inโ a Signal group chat could have endangered troops during a military operation in Yemen, accordingโค toโค sources familiar wiht the findings.The unclassified report is expected to โbe released Thursday.
The investigation stems from a Marchโค 2024 report โby The โAtlantic detailing a Signal chat involving hegseth, โฃthen-Vice President JD Vance, and then-National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Waltzโ inadvertently added The Atlantic’s โ executive editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, to the group. Theโฃ chat contained details about an upcoming military plan to strike sites in Yemen controlled by Houthi militants.
According to The Atlantic, Hegseth revealed specifics of the planned strike,โ including the timing โข- “THIS ISโ WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP” atโฃ 1415 (2:15โ p.m.) – and the โuse of F-18 fighter jets and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Sources also indicated hegseth shared โsimilar details in โa separateโ chat with his wife, who does not work atโค the Pentagon.
On March 15, a U.S.โ military attack unfolded as described โฃin theโ Signal chat, hitting dozens of Houthi targets, including missiles, radar, and air defense systems.โ
Following the publication of The Atlantic โ report, Hegseth and hisโ chief spokesman, Sean โParnell, repeatedly asserted the information was not classified. CIAโ Director John Ratcliffeโ and then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsiโ Gabbardโ also testified that โขthe chat did not contain classified information. Parnell stated โฃonโ X (formerly Twitter) onโ April 20, “There was โคno classified informationโข in anyโ Signal chat, โคno matter how many ways thay try toโ write theโฃ story.” Hegseth, inโ an April 22 Fox News interview, characterized the information as “informal unclassified coordination for media coordination.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee, led โby Chairman Roger Wickerโข andโ ranking โฃmember Jack Reed, requested the IG investigation last spring.โ Wicker stated at the โtime, “The โขinformation as published โrecently appears to me toโข be of such a sensitive natureโ that, โคbased on my knowledge, I would have wanted it classified.”