What the Pentagon investigation found about Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal

Pentagon flags Hegseth Signal security breach

A newly released report from the US Defense Department’s inspector general has laid out in detail how US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth mishandled classified military information earlier this year by sharing sensitive operational details in a private Signal chat. The findings have triggered political debate in Washington and raised fresh questions about how the Pentagon manages secure communications in an era when senior officials increasingly rely on personal devices, the New York Times reported.

The investigation focused on a series of messages sent by Hegseth ahead of American airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15. According to the inspector general, Hegseth received an email from US Central Command marked “Secret//NOFORN,” indicating a high classification level that prohibits disclosure to foreign nationals. The email contained exact sortie timings for Navy aircraft tasked with carrying out the strikes.

Instead of keeping the information on secure channels, Hegseth passed details, including the timing window for the attacks, into a private Signal group chat. Pentagon rules forbid transmitting classified material over unapproved networks, regardless of whether the information is paraphrased or partially obscured. Investigators said Hegseth’s actions did not comply with these rules and risked exposing operational information that, in adversarial hands, could have threatened US pilots.

Who was in the Signal group and why it mattered

The chat group itself was unusual. Participants included US Vice President JD Vance, national security advisor Michael Waltz, White House adviser Stephen Miller and, due to an accidental addition, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic. Because Signal’s auto-delete setting was enabled, investigators did not recover the full message history and instead relied partly on Goldberg’s published transcript of the exchange. Those messages reportedly contained precise launch times for the fighter jets and anticipated impact windows for the strikes.

The inspector general stressed that such information is normally kept secret to preserve surprise and protect aircrews. If hostile forces like the Houthis had obtained those details in real time, they could have used their radar and missile systems to target American aircraft.

Hegseth’s defence and the inspector general’s conclusions

Hegseth declined a live interview with investigators but submitted a written statement. He argued that he had created an “unclassified summary” of the operational information and shared only general context. He also claimed he had authority to declassify material, though the report notes that no evidence was provided showing he formally exercised that authority in this instance.

The inspector general rejected the idea that the summaries were harmless, emphasizing that even approximate operational timing would have held tactical value for the Houthis, who possess capable air defences. Though no aircraft were shot down during the operation, the report points out that two Navy jets were lost due to unrelated mishaps aboard the aircraft carrier USS. Harry S. Truman.

The probe also flagged Hegseth’s use of a personal cellphone while sitting inside a secure facility in his residence on a Washington-area Army base. The Pentagon prohibits the use of private devices for handling classified material, including within secure rooms.

Partisan reaction in Congress and calls for new tools

Reactions to the report broke along party lines. Republicans argued Hegseth acted within his discretion and highlighted the need for better secure mobile tools for senior officials. Democrats said the report clearly established a violation of classified information protocols and warned that such breaches could endanger service members.

Alongside the investigative findings, the inspector general issued a companion report urging the Pentagon to create a secure, government-controlled mobile communication system that preserves messages for official records. The report noted that without such tools, senior leaders will continue relying on encrypted consumer apps that are not designed to handle classified traffic.

As the Pentagon reviews the recommendations, the episode underscores a broader challenge: ensuring that fast-paced military operations and modern communication habits do not collide in ways that compromise national security.