A Pentagon watchdog has released a report that finds Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated agency policy by using the Signal messaging app to discuss U.S. airstrikes in Yemen.
The investigation's findings, released Thursday, are the culmination of a months-long probe led by Pentagon Inspector General Steven Stebbins. It was started after a journalist for The Atlantic reported in March that he had been added to a Signal group chat where a handful of top officials discussed plans to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The 84-page report concludes that Hegseth's decision to share highly sensitive military plans on the commercially available encrypted messaging app, using his personal cell phone, could have jeopardized the safety of American servicemembers and the mission.
"The Secretary sent nonpublic DoD information identifying the quantity and strike times of manned U.S. aircraft over hostile territory over an unapproved, unsecure network approximately 2 to 4 hours before the execution of those strikes," according to the report.
"Using a personal cell phone to conduct official business and send nonpublic DoD information through Signal risks potential compromise of sensitive DoD information, which could cause harm to DoD personnel and mission objectives," it added.
Hegseth declined to be interviewed for Stebbins' investigation and instead provided only a written statement where he argued that the information he shared in the Signal chat did not require classification.
In a statement issued ahead of the report's public release, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the findings showed Hegseth did nothing wrong.
"The Inspector General review is a TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth and proves what we knew all along — no classified information was shared. This matter is resolved, and the case is closed," Parnell said.
NPR disclosure: Katherine Maher, the CEO of NPR, chairs the board of the Signal Foundation.
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