By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) – A Pentagon investigation has faulted U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for using Signal on his personal device to transmit sensitive information about planned strikes in Yemen, saying it could have endangered U.S. troops if intercepted, two people familiar with the document said on Wednesday.
However, the report by the Pentagon’s independent Inspector General did not weigh in on whether the information Hegseth posted was classified at the time since it acknowledged that he, as the head of the Pentagon, can decide what information is classified and what is not, the sources said.
The report has not yet been publicly released, something U.S. officials expect to happen this week.
In a statement, the Pentagon said the review cleared the U.S. defense secretary, comments echoed by Hegseth himself later on social media.
“No classified information. Total exoneration. Case closed,” Hegseth said on X.
LEGAL CONCERNS RAISED
The renewed focus on Hegseth comes at a delicate time for the former Fox News host, as scrutiny intensifies of his leadership overseeing deadly U.S. strikes against suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean that have raised legal concerns.
Prominent Democrats, including the top Democratic lawmaker on the House Armed Services Committee, said the Signal investigation showed Hegseth lacked the judgment required of the leader of the U.S. armed forces.
“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,” said Representative Adam Smith of Washington state.
Hegseth shared the details on the imminent March 15 launch of U.S. attacks on Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi fighters with a group of President Donald Trump’s top national security officials, which accidentally included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg.
Goldberg later revealed the details of the chat in an article and, when Trump administration officials accused him of exaggerating their importance, he published screenshots of the back-and-forth between Hegseth and other top Trump officials.
Hegseth could be seen in the screenshots texting about specific plans to kill a Houthi militant leader in Yemen two hours before the secret military operation.
The Inspector General’s report said the information from the U.S. military had been classified at the time it was transmitted to Hegseth and it could have put U.S. service members and the mission itself at risk had the chat been intercepted, the sources said.
Hegseth, who repeatedly denied texting war plans and said no classified information was shared, declined to be interviewed by the Inspector General’s office for the investigation, the sources said, citing the report.
In a written statement to the Inspector General, Hegseth said he was allowed to declassify information however he determined was appropriate and only texted information he did not think posed an operational risk, one of the sources said. He also accused the investigation of being driven by political opponents, even though it was called for by Republican and Democratic lawmakers, the source said.
Hegseth’s past defense of his use of Signal has bewildered Democrats and former U.S. officials, who regard timing and targeting details as some of the most closely held material ahead of a U.S. military campaign.
If Houthi leaders knew a strike was coming, they might have been able to flee, possibly to crowded areas where targeting is more difficult and the number of potential civilian casualties might be deemed too high to proceed.
However, the chat did not appear to include any names or precise locations of Houthi militants being targeted or to disclose information that could have been used to target U.S. troops carrying out the operation.
The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, said the Inspector General’s report confirmed it was aware of several other Signal chats used for official business, “underscoring that this was not an isolated lapse.”
“It reflects a broader pattern of recklessness and poor judgment from a secretary who has repeatedly shown he is in over his head,” Warner said.
The Inspector General noted Hegseth only provided a small number of his Signal messages for review, leaving the investigation to rely on screenshots published by The Atlantic, the source said, citing the report.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Editing by Diane Craft, Lincoln Feast and Chris Reese)
Comments