Pentagon IG: Signal Yemen Message Put Troops at Risk, Hegseth: ‘Total Exoneration’
By The Media Line Staff
A Pentagon investigation has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s messages on the Signal network on March 15 communicated operational information prior to a stike on Yemen that could have posed a severe risk to American forces if the chat had been compromised.
The Pentagon inspector general found that the material had been classified by US Central Command at the time it was transmitted, though the panel did not assess whether Hegseth himself considered it classified, since he has the authority to determine classification levels.
Hegseth is also facing scrutiny over an alleged statement to “kill them all” during an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.
The report has not yet been released publicly, but US officials expect it to appear this week. Before its publication, the Pentagon said Hegseth had been cleared. He echoed that line on social media, writing: “No classified information. Total exoneration. Case closed.”
The controversy stems from a Signal group that included senior national security officials, and, inadvertently, the editor of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg. Screenshots later published by the magazine captured Hegseth describing the timing of incoming US strikes, including the line: “THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP.”
Hegseth did not sit for an interview with investigators and declined to hand over his personal phone, citing privacy and jurisdiction concerns. His adviser Tim Parlatore insisted that the segment of the report warning of potential danger to US pilots was merely the investigator’s opinion, saying the broader document exonerates the secretary.
Despite the uproar, the White House maintained its backing. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the review “affirms what the Administration has said from the beginning” and added that President Trump “stands by Secretary Hegseth.”
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