Pentagon Watchdog to Investigate Hegseth's Use of Signal for Yemen Strike Plans
The Pentagon's interim inspector general is conducting an investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of the Signal messaging app to communicate plans for a potential military assault on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The assessment will similarly examine the utilization of this openly accessible encrypted application by additional defense personnel. It should be noted that this tool cannot accommodate classified information and does not form part of the Defense Department’s secured communication infrastructure.
Hegseth’s utilization of the application became public knowledge when journalist Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic was mistakenly included in a Signal chat thread by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
The group comprised Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and others. They convened to discuss the military operations scheduled for March 15th against the Iran-supported Houthis.
The aim of this assessment is to ascertain the degree to which the Secretary of Defense and other Department of Defense staff adhered to the department’s guidelines and protocols regarding the utilization of a commercial messaging app for official duties, as stated by acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins in a notification letter sent to Hegseth.
In addition, we will examine adherence to classification guidelines and record-keeping regulations.
Within the sequence, Hegseth disclosed precise timing details regarding warplane takeoffs and bomb drops prior to the U.S. servicemen executing these strikes becoming airborne.
The review was initiated at the behest of Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, the panel’s leading Democrat.
In congressional hearings, Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern about the use of Signal and pressed military officers on whether they would find it appropriate to use the commercial app to discuss military operations.
Both current and former military officials have said the level of detail Hegseth shared on Signal most likely would have been classified.
The Trump administration has insisted no classified information was shared and dismissed the incident as a "glitch."
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