Signalgate leak: Pete Hegseth under investigation for unauthorized military chats

UPDATED: Apr 4, 2025 00:46 IST

The Pentagon's acting inspector general has announced a review of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of the Signal app to discuss plans for a military strike in Yemen. The investigation will also examine other officials' use of the app, which is not designed for classified information or part of the Defense Department's secure network.

Hegseth’s use of the app came to light when journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic was mistakenly added to a Signal text chain by Security Adviser Mike Waltz. The chain included Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and others, who were discussing military operations against the Iran-backed Houthis, according to the Associated Press.

Hegseth has repeatedly said no classified information was revealed in the chat, even though it included precise times for the launch of US. airstrikes and some targeting details that are regarded as closely guarded secrets ahead of a surprise military operation like the one in Yemen. The details of the chat were revealed last week by The Atlantic magazine, after its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was included in the chat by mistake.

“The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business. Additionally, we will review compliance with classification and records retention requirements,” the acting inspector general, Steven Stebbins, stated in a notification letter to Hegseth.

(With inputs from Reuters, Associated Press)

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