Pentagon watchdog completes review of Hegseth’s Signal use : NPR

The Pentagon's watchdog has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth compromised the safety of U.S. military personnel by sharing sensitive military information on the messaging app Signal, a source familiar with the inspector general's upcoming report said.

The report, expected to be published as soon as Thursday, was released after journalist for Atlantic disclosed in March, it was added to an encrypted messaging app chat in which Hegseth and other senior officials discussed plans for American airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

A summary of the report provided by NPR shows that if a foreign adversary had intercepted the intelligence discussed in the chat, it would have put both U.S. troops and the mission at risk.

The investigation was led by Pentagon Inspector General Stephen Stebbins. A source who saw the document but was not authorized to discuss it publicly shared his findings with NPR.

The report concluded that Hegseth, who sent target, timing and aircraft information to two communications teams including his wife and brother, violated Pentagon policy regarding the use of personal phones for official purposes. Hegseth will not be interviewed by investigators and will only provide a written response, the report said.

In his response, Hegseth stated that he was able to declassify the information; The inspector general did not determine whether Hegseth had declassified the chat information by the time it was published, but acknowledged that as defense secretary he had the authority to do so.

In a statement, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the findings cleared Hegseth of any wrongdoing.

“The Inspector General's review is a COMPLETE vindication of Secretary Hegseth and proves what we knew all along – no classified information was released. This matter has been resolved and the case is closed,” Parnell said.

NPR Disclosure: Catherine Maher, CEO of NPR, chairs the board of the Signal Foundation.