Pentagon IG Finds Hegseth ‘Signalgate’ Messages Violated DOD Policy

War Secretary Pete Hegseth did not comply with Pentagon regulations in disclosing operational details on strikes against Houthi targets in March via the Signal app on his personal phone, the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoDIG) concluded in a report released Thursday.

Investigators determined Hegseth improperly handled sensitive, nonpublic, operational information using unauthorized apps and insecure devices in violation of policy and at risk of “potential compromise.” The report noted Hegseth had determined the information did not require classification, which is within his authority to decide.

“We concluded that the Secretary sent sensitive, nonpublic, operational information that he determined did not require classification over the Signal chat on his personal cell phone,” the report reads. “The Secretary is the head original classification authority in the DoD based on Executive Order 13526 and DoD Manual 5200.45 and holds the authority to determine the required classification level of all DoD information he communicates.”

“However, because the Secretary indicated that he used the Signal application on his personal cell phone to send nonpublic DoD information, we concluded that the Secretary’s actions did not comply with DoD Instruction 8170.01, which prohibits using a personal device for official business and using a nonapproved commercially available messaging application to send nonpublic DoD information,” the report continued.

Former National Security Advisor and now-United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz inadvertently added The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat in March intended for discussions surrounding strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. Hegseth shared