Pentagon Investigation Determines Pete Hegseth Put U.S. Troops at Risk with Signal Group Chat

A new report from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General concludes that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put U.S. forces at risk when he shared sensitive details about upcoming airstrikes in a Signal group chat.

The report, released Thursday, Dec. 4, found that Hegseth’s “actions created a risk to operational security that could have resulted in failed U.S. mission objectives and potential harm to U.S. pilots.”

Earlier this year, Hegseth used the encrypted messaging app Signal to circulate plans for U.S. strikes on Houthi forces in a group chat that included members of President Donald Trump’s national security team. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, was mistakenly added to the chat and later wrote about the episode for the magazine in March.

According to the inspector general, Hegseth “sent nonpublic DoD information identifying the quantity and strike times of manned U.S. aircraft over hostile territory over an unapproved, unsecure network approximately 2 to 4 hours before the execution of those strikes.”

The report warns that using a personal phone and a nonapproved app for official business “risks potential compromise of sensitive DoD information, which could cause harm to DoD personnel and mission objectives.”

Hegseth declined an in-person interview for the investigation but did submit written statements. Investigators also cited The Atlantic’s reporting as a source of additional context.

Hegseth maintained that he was within his authority to declassify the information he shared in the chat. The inspector general acknowledged that, as defense secretary, he has the power “to determine the required classification level of all DoD information he communicate.” However, the report stresses that his decision to transmit that information over Signal put the mission and its participants at unnecessary risk.

“We concluded that the Secretary sent sensitive, nonpublic, operational information that he determined did not require classification over the Signal chat on his personal cell phone,” the report states.

Because Hegseth “indicated that he used the Signal application on his personal cell phone to send nonpublic DoD information,” investigators determined that his actions violated Pentagon rules, “which prohibit using a personal device for official business and using a nonapproved commercially available messaging application to send nonpublic DoD information.”

The inspector general offered just one recommendation: that the chief of the USCENTCOM Special Security Office “review the command’s classification procedures” and “issue additional procedures, as necessary, to ensure proper portion marking of classified information.”

Hegseth responded publicly to the report on Wednesday, Dec. 3, writing on X: “No classified information. Total exoneration. Case closed. Houthis bombed into submission. Thank you for your attention to this IG report.”

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell echoed that framing, saying, “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.”

Democrats, however, read the findings very differently. Washington Rep. Adam Smith of the House Armed Services Committee issued a blistering statement.

“This report is a damning review of an incompetent secretary of defense who is profoundly incapable of the job and clearly has no respect for or comprehension of what is required to safeguard our service members,” Smith said.

He continued, “It raises more questions about Hegseth’s decision making. Chief among them he had the tools and ability at his fingertips to rapidly communicate this highly sensitive information over established, secure channels. The way he chose to communicate this information put service members at risk.”