A Pentagon inspector general review has found that the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, violated departmental procedures earlier this year when he shared sensitive military information via the Signal messaging app. The watchdog investigation began in April after these communications were identified.
The findings suggest a potential violation regarding classification rules, even though the IG acknowledged Hegseth possesses the authority to declassify Pentagon information, implying that federal law may not have been broken but internal protocols certainly were.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) reviewed the report Wednesday and dismissed the dispute surrounding “Signalgate” as another attempt to politically damage Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. In his statement, he characterized the controversy as an ongoing effort to undermine him.
Hegseth faces additional scrutiny from bipartisan lawmakers over a September military operation in the Caribbean targeting an alleged drug-smuggling vessel. Eleven people were killed during these strikes, leading widespread criticism directed at the leadership for authorizing them despite concerns about civilian safety raised by some service members and officials.
The investigation into “Signalgate” was completed in September but delayed transmission due to government operations management issues. An unclassified version of the report is expected Thursday.
