Congress Receives Classified Pentagon Report On Hegseth Investigation
Sources who know about the situation say that a confidential Pentagon inspector general report on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s usage of the encrypted messaging software Signal has been sent to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
The classified paper looks at whether Hegseth mismanaged critical military intelligence when talking about U.S. activities in Yemen. Lawmakers are currently looking over the results in private.
Redacted Version Expected To Be Made Public On Thursday
Officials informed CNN that a redacted and declassified version of the study will be made public later this week. The last classified version was finished in September, although it was changed multiple times because Hegseth’s team asked for changes and explanations.
The Inspector General’s Office (IG) usually lets those who are being investigated give input before the report is made public; however, these reviews typically slow down the release of the report.
Inquiry Originated After Reports On Yemen Operation Leaks
The Atlantic revealed in April 2025 that Hegseth had disclosed secret military information using Signal conversations. This is when the inquiry started. These included the timing, choreography, and resources for planned U.S. airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebel organization.
The disclosures made many worry that operational security was at risk, which led to bipartisan calls for responsibility from the leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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Inspector General Probes Possible Breach Of Classified Protocols
The review’s goal was to find out if Hegseth broke any federal regulations about keeping records or handling classified material when he used Signal. Investigators also looked into if any unauthorized people were able to get operational information using his account.
The study looked into whether other people may have put classified information into the conversations for Hegseth and whether other parties could have gotten to his device.
Sensitive Military Information Shared In Private Chats
CNN’s prior reports said that Hegseth’s Signal account was in at least a dozen discussion groups, and 2 of them supposedly included secret U.S. Central Command data.
One of the discussions apparently included people from Hegseth’s family in it, such as his wife, brother, and personal lawyer. This raised worries about possible leaks of private information.
Document Marked Secret/NOFORN Raises Questions On Declassification
Some of the information that was released came from a CENTCOM document marked “Secret/NOFORN,” which means it shouldn’t have been shared with anyone from other countries.
Hegseth is the Secretary of Defense and has the power to classify things, but it is not known if he officially declassified the information before sending it out through private channels.
Pentagon And Lawmakers Await Public Summary Of Findings
The Inspector General of the Pentagon and the Office of the Secretary of Defense have not said anything about the investigation’s findings. However, officials in Congress warn that the results will probably have an effect on how secure communications are monitored in the future for national defense.
Before the public summary comes out later this week, the House and Senate committees are likely to look at the whole report. There are still doubts over whether Hegseth’s actions broke U.S. security rules or were just careless.
