A Pentagon investigation has found that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used Signal on his personal phone to share sensitive details about planned strikes in Yemen. Two people familiar with the report said this action could have put US troops at risk if anyone intercepted the messages.
The Pentagon’s Inspector General reviewed the case but did not judge whether the shared information was classified. The report noted that Hegseth can choose what information is classified because he leads the Pentagon. US officials expect to release the full report later this week.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the review cleared Hegseth and confirmed that the matter is closed. The issue resurfaces while Hegseth faces increased scrutiny over US strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. Legal experts have raised concerns about those operations.
Hegseth shared early details of planned March 15 strikes on Yemen’s Houthi fighters with a group of senior Trump officials. The group mistakenly included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. Goldberg later revealed the conversation and posted screenshots showing Hegseth discussing plans two hours before the mission.
Investigators said Hegseth gave them only a few Signal messages. They relied on Goldberg’s screenshots to complete their review.
