Pentagon Investigation Finds Pete Hegseth's Signal Communications Posed Security Risk to US Troops

The Pentagon has issued a statement confirming that a review has exonerated Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

A Pentagon investigation has determined that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of Signal on his personal device to transmit sensitive information regarding planned Yemen strikes could have endangered American troops if intercepted, according to two individuals familiar with the document who spoke on Wednesday.

The report from the Pentagon's independent Inspector General did not make determinations about whether the information Hegseth shared was classified at the time, acknowledging that as Pentagon chief, he has authority to decide classification matters, the sources indicated.

The report has yet to be publicly released, though US officials anticipate this will happen this week.

In an official statement, the Pentagon declared that the review has exonerated Hegseth.

"This matter is resolved, and the case is closed," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed.

The renewed scrutiny of Hegseth comes at a particularly sensitive time for the former Fox News host, as questions intensify regarding his leadership overseeing deadly US strikes against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean that have raised legal concerns.

Hegseth shared details about the imminent March 15 launch of US attacks on Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi fighters with a group of President Donald Trump's top national security officials, which inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine.

Goldberg subsequently revealed the chat details in an article and, when Trump administration officials accused him of exaggerating their significance, published screenshots of the exchanges between Hegseth and other senior Trump officials.

The screenshots showed Hegseth texting about specific plans to target a Houthi militant leader in Yemen two hours before the covert military operation commenced.

According to the sources, the Inspector General's report stated that the military information had been classified when transmitted to Hegseth and could have jeopardized US service members and the mission itself had the chat been compromised.

Hegseth, who has repeatedly denied texting war plans and maintained that no classified information was shared, declined to participate in an interview with the Inspector General's office during the investigation, the sources revealed.

In a written statement to the Inspector General, Hegseth asserted his authority to declassify information as he deemed appropriate and claimed he only texted information he believed posed no operational risk, according to one source. He also characterized the investigation as politically motivated, despite it being requested by lawmakers from both Republican and Democratic parties.

Hegseth's defense of his Signal usage has puzzled Democrats and former U.S. officials, who consider timing and targeting details to be among the most sensitive information prior to a US military operation.

Had Houthi leaders received advance warning of an impending strike, they might have escaped, potentially to densely populated areas where targeting becomes more challenging and the risk of civilian casualties might be deemed unacceptably high.

However, the chat apparently did not include names or precise locations of targeted Houthi militants, nor did it disclose information that could have endangered US troops executing the operation.

According to one source, the Inspector General noted that Hegseth provided only a limited number of his Signal messages for examination, forcing the investigation to rely primarily on screenshots published by The Atlantic.