Pentagon inspector general’s office to launch a probe into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss sensitive information about military operations in Yemen.
Senior members of the Trump administration, including Hegseth, used Signal chat to discuss air strikes on Yemen. On Trump’s orders, the US launched an attack on Yemen’s Houthi rebels in a bid to curb their attacks on commercial shipping and military vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
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The information was accidentally leaked when Jeff Goldberg, who is the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, was inadvertently included in the Signal in which officials including Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Hegseth discussed details of air strike timings and intelligence.
In a memo released Thursday, acting inspector general, Steven Stebbins, said that the investigation will evaluate “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”.
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“Additionally, we will review compliance with classification and records retention requirements,” according to the memo.
The memo also revealed that the investigation is in response to a request from the top two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, a Republican and a Democrat.
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Hegseth denies claims
Those who were part of the group have denied the claims, with Hegseth accusing the journalist by saying, “This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an “attack plan” (as he now calls it). Not even close.”
Meanwhile, Goldberg claimed that he was invited to an encrypted chat group called the “Houthi PC small group” on March 13. In the group, Waltz tasked his deputy Alex Wong with setting up a “tiger team” to coordinate US action against the Houthis. He unveiled screenshots later on Wednesday (Mar 26).
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(With inputs from agencies)