A Pentagon watchdog has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth endangered the safety of U.S. servicemembers by sharing sensitive military information on the encrypted messaging app Signal, according to a source who reviewed the forthcoming inspector general report.
The probe began after a journalist for The Atlantic disclosed in March that he had been added to a Signal chat where Hegseth and other senior officials discussed plans for U.S. airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. A summary of the inspector general’s findings provided to NPR states that, had a foreign adversary intercepted the intelligence discussed in the chat, it would have jeopardized both U.S. personnel and the mission.
The investigation was led by Pentagon Inspector General Steven Stebbins. The source who shared the report summary with NPR had seen the document but was not authorized to speak about it publicly.
According to the report, Hegseth sent information about targets, timing and aircraft to two Signal groups, one of which included his wife and brother, in violation of Pentagon rules prohibiting use of personal phones for official business. The report says Hegseth refused an in-person interview with investigators and provided only a written response.
In that written response, Hegseth asserted that he had the ability to declassify information. The inspector general did not determine whether information in the chat had been declassified by the time it was shared, but noted that the secretary of defense does have declassification authority. Hegseth also told investigators he believed the probe was political and expressed distrust of Stebbins, the summary says.
Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell issued a statement saying the findings cleared Hegseth of wrongdoing. “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.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt likewise defended the administration’s handling of sensitive information, saying the review “affirms what the Administration has said from the beginning — no classified information was leaked, and operational security was not compromised.” The White House reiterated President Trump’s support for Hegseth.
The review, which took months, was opened in April after a request from Senate Armed Services Committee leaders — Republican Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Democrat Jack Reed. Over the course of the investigation, Hegseth provided only a portion of his Signal messages to the inspector general, forcing Stebbins to rely largely on screenshots of the chat published by The Atlantic, the source said.
Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a member of the Armed Services Committee, responded to the report by saying Hegseth should not have been using a personal phone and an unsecured app to share that type of Department of Defense information. “It’s not too hard to see how our adversaries can get that information and pass it on, to the Houthis in this case, and put those lives at risk,” Kelly said.
The report’s release coincides with additional scrutiny of Hegseth over the administration’s campaign to strike boats in the Caribbean Sea suspected of carrying drugs to the U.S. One strike raised questions about whether U.S. forces fired on survivors of a Sept. 2 bombing — an action military experts say could amount to a war crime if the administration’s claim of being at war with narco traffickers is accepted.
Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon has been marked by controversy. Critics note that the Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News host lacks the experience of many past defense secretaries. In his Senate confirmation hearing, Hegseth listed “lethality, meritocracy, warfighting, accountability and readiness” as his priorities. Since taking office, he has overseen significant changes at the department: firing several top officials, imposing restrictions on transgender troops and veterans, and rebranding the agency as the Department of War.
The White House reiterated continued confidence in Hegseth, with Leavitt saying, “President Trump stands by Secretary Hegseth.”
NPR disclosure: Katherine Maher, the CEO of NPR, chairs the board of the Signal Foundation.
Gabriel Sanchez contributed reporting.