A recent investigation by the Pentagon's internal watchdog has concluded that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth potentially compromised classified information. The incident involved him sharing details of a planned military operation in Yemen through the private messaging app Signal.
Details of the Security Breach
According to media reports on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, the Pentagon inspector general determined that Secretary Hegseth relayed information from a U.S. Central Command planning document marked Secret/NOFORN. This classification means the details were strictly prohibited from being shared with any foreign national.
The watchdog's findings, citing unnamed sources, stated that sharing such operational specifics on a commercial platform like Signal could have endangered U.S. forces who were preparing for the strike. The report explicitly noted that Hegseth should not have used the app for this purpose and recommended enhanced protocol training for senior officials at the Department of Defense.
Timeline and Recipients of the Messages
The events unfolded on March 15. Hegseth reportedly shared forthcoming strike details, including flight schedules for F/A-18 Hornets targeting Houthi positions in Yemen. This information was sent to a private Signal group chat that included his wife, Jennifer Rauchet—a former Fox News producer—his brother Phil Hegseth, and his personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore.
On that same day, the Defense Secretary also messaged another Signal group. This group included The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, about impending strikes on Yemen scheduled to occur within two hours. Goldberg later detailed this communication in an article published on March 24.
Reactions and Aftermath
The Pentagon's spokesperson, Sean Parnell, presented a starkly different view from the inspector general's findings. He stated to reporters that the review was a "TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth" and proved that no classified information was actually shared, declaring the matter resolved.
However, Hegseth's use of Signal for discussing sensitive military plans drew significant criticism and directly triggered the Pentagon probe. A classified version of the inspector general's report was sent to Congress on the night of Tuesday, December 2, with an unclassified version expected for public release on Thursday, December 4.
It was noted in a CNN report that Secretary Hegseth retains his original classification authority, which grants him the power to unilaterally declassify information.
