Pentagon watchdog says Hegseth’s Signal cat violated regulations and could have put troops at risk
Washington — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth compromised sensitive military information that could have endangered U.S. service members when he shared some details on U.S. military operations in Yemen during a private Signal group discussion earlier this year, according to a Pentagon inspector general report released Thursday morning.
The report finds that the former Fox News host turned Defense Secretary violated Defense Department policies when he used his personal device for official purposes to transmit sensitive U.S. military information to other senior Trump officials and the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine. CBS News reported the report’s key findings ahead of its release, based on multiple sources. Hegseth and his office also violated federal law by failing to maintain official records, according to the report.
“Using a personal cell phone to conduct official business and send nonpublic DoD information via Signal risks compromising sensitive DoD information, which could harm DoD personnel and mission objectives,” the report said.
The report also states that Hegseth’s “actions created an operational security risk that could have resulted in the failure of U.S. mission objectives and potential harm to U.S. pilots.”
A classified version of the inspector general’s report was sent to Congress on Tuesday. An unexpurgated version was released Thursday.
In a statement Wednesday, Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said the review “is a COMPLETE exoneration of Secretary Hegseth and proves what we knew all along: no classified information was shared. This matter is resolved and the matter is closed.”
Hegseth also called the review a “total exoneration,” writing on X: “No information classified. Total exemption.
The report states that while Hegseth has the authority to declassify information as Secretary, “based on our review, we have concluded that certain of the Secretary’s information sent from his personal cell phone on Signal on March 15, 2025, matched operational information sent by USCENTCOM and classified SECRET/NOFORN.” CBS News previously reported about the classified information source and that it was shared by Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, who at the time was commander of U.S. Central Command, the primary combat unit overseeing U.S. military operations in the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia.
According to the U.S. Central Command security classification guide, the operational movement of aircraft should be classified SECRET, the report said. However, the Secretary of Defense is authorized to declassify information when appropriate, but according to Department of Defense manuals reviewed by CBS News, the Secretary of Defense is required to notify individuals when downgrading or declassifying information and to use appropriate classification markers when communicating the information.
The report suggests that Hegseth did not inform people in the Signal chat that he had declassified the information, nor did he inform U.S. Central Command, which would mean the unit still considered the information to be classified.
The “SECRET” designation means that the information has been classified and its disclosure without proper declassification could potentially cause serious harm to national security and jeopardize the safety of military personnel, according to the U.S. government.
The “NOFORN” label means that information can only be released to U.S. agencies and individuals, excluding foreign nationals and even close U.S. allies.
Hegseth declined to be interviewed for the report, the inspector general said, choosing instead to answer questions in writing.
The secretary did not provide his personal cell phone to the IG, according to the report. His office provided some messages that matched those published in The Atlantic, but excluded “a number of messages that had been automatically deleted at the time the information was captured on the secretary’s phone due to chat settings.”
The IG was informed that Hegseth had posted the same information in separate Signal chats, so the IG requested copies of messages from other group chats. Because the IG did not have access to Hegseth’s phone, it was not “able to verify whether any of the Signal chats also identified also contained sensitive, classified, or other non-public DoD information.”
The sources familiar with the inspector general’s investigation said the report concluded that if the information had been intercepted by a foreign adversary, it would have clearly endangered the U.S. military and the mission.
A day after The Atlantic published Signal’s article, U.S. Africa Command, in coordination with the Somali government, conducted multiple airstrikes against affiliates of the Islamic State terrorist organization. A press release said the airstrikes took place near Somalia’s Golis Mountains and that several “members of ISIS in Somalia were killed.”
After several Trump administration officials claimed that information in the Signal chat group was unclassified, CBS News filed a Freedom of Information Act request in March with U.S. Africa Command to see if similar information deemed unclassified by Hegseth regarding the Yemen airstrike could be released regarding the March 25 airstrike against ISIS operatives in Somalia.
CBS News requested information about the airstrike that was similar to information appearing in the Signal newsgroup about the strikes and that Trump intelligence officials said it was unclassified.
In early September, CBS News received a response from U.S. Africa Command, which reached the same conclusion as the Pentagon’s inspector general about the Somalia airstrike: that if disclosed, it could endanger national security.
“[The] information that is currently and properly classified pursuant to Executive Order 13526. … In this case, I have determined that disclosure of the documents would likely harm national security,” Marine Maj. Gen. Matthew Trollinger, chief of staff to Air Force Gen. Dagvin RM Anderson, commander of U.S. Africa Command, wrote in his letter to CBS News.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the IG’s review “confirms what the administration has said all along: no classified information was disclosed and operational security was not compromised.”
She went on to say, “The President’s entire national security team is doing an excellent job promoting American interests while protecting sensitive information,” adding, “President Trump stands with Secretary Hegseth.” »
In separate statements Wednesday, top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees called for Hegseth’s resignation.
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said the report “notes that the IG is aware of several other Signal conversations that Hegseth used for official business, emphasizing that this was not an isolated error.” This reflects a broader pattern of recklessness and poor judgment from a secretary who has repeatedly shown he is in over his head.
“Pete Hegseth’s behavior and poor judgment would constitute a fireable offense for anyone within the Department of Defense,” said Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut. “Moreover, his refusal to appear for an interview with the Inspector General or to submit his device for examination is yet another example of his failure to take responsibility for his actions.”
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a veteran who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CBS News in an interview that the report showed “a breathtaking violation of our national security and Hegseth must resign immediately.”
“When you tell someone that 30 minutes after the drone attack, our plane will be in position there, that’s classified information in the middle of an operation. You’re telling the enemy, ‘Hey, by the way, 30 minutes after the drone attack, be ready to shoot our planes out of the sky, because they’ll be there.’ This is classified operational information,” Duckworth said. “And this argument that Hegseth has authority just by sharing it,” he declassified, “that doesn’t make it right. It just means they’re trying to cover their ass.”
Last month, Hegseth joked about the “Signalgate” scandal while speaking at Fox Nation’s Patriot Awards after spotting United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz in the audience.
“I see Mike Waltz – Mike, I’ll contact you on Signal later.”
