Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ‘acted within his authority’ by sharing sensitive details about Houthi strikes over Signal, Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker said after viewing a report from the Pentagon Inspector General (IG).
‘It is clear from the reports that the Secretary acted within his authority to communicate the information in question to other cabinet level officials,’ the Mississippi Republican said in a statement.
‘It is also clear to me that our senior leaders need more tools available to them to communicate classified information in real time and a variety of environments. I think we have some work to do in providing those tools to our national security leaders.’
U.S. officials often use Signal, an encrypted private messaging app, to communicate, even for sensitive information when they or the recipients of their messages are not near a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF).
Sources familiar with the report told Fox News that it had also determined Hegseth ‘created risks to operational security’ by sharing details of the March Houthi strikes with Cabinet officials over Signal. His actions ‘could have resulted in failed US mission objectives and potential harm to US pilots,’ one source familiar with the report said it determined.
Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said of the report: ‘This Inspector General review is a TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth and proves what we knew all along – no classified information was shared. This matter is resolved and the case is closed.’
A classified version of the report has been handed over to the Senate Armed Services Committee and is available for members of the committee to view. An unclassified, redacted version will be made public on Thursday.
Trump administration officials used Signal to discuss sensitive military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen in March. Then-national security advisor Mike Waltz had created the chat, which included many of Trump’s top Cabinet members, and inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic.
The IG launched a probe in April following requests from top lawmakers on Capitol Hill. It was intended to examine whether Secretary Pete Hegseth improperly discussed operational plans for a U.S. offensive against the Houthis in Yemen and will also review ‘compliance with classification and records retention requirements,’ according to a memo from Inspector General Steven Stebbins.
Hegseth’s Signal messages revealed F-18, Navy fighter aircraft, MQ-9s, drones and Tomahawks cruise missiles would be used in the strike on the Houthis.
‘1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package),’ Hegseth said in one message notifying the chat of high-level administration officials that the attack was about to kick off.
‘1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s),’ he added, according to the report.
‘1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)’
‘1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)’
‘1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.’
‘MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)’
‘We are currently clean on OPSEC’ — that is, operational security.
Waltz later wrote that the mission had been successful. ‘The first target — their top missile guy — was positively ID’d walking into his girlfriend’s building. It’s now collapsed.’
Trump administration officials have insisted that nothing classified was shared over the chat. The report should offer clarity on that claim.
Thursday will be a contentious day for the Pentagon — Adm. Frank M. Bradley, commander of Special Operations Command, will also be on Capitol Hill to offer his account of the Sept. 2 ‘double tap’ strike on alleged narco-traffickers.
After one strike on a boat carrying 11 people and allegedly carting drugs toward the U.S. left two survivors clinging to the wreckage, Bradley ordered another to take out the remaining smugglers.
Lawmakers and legal analysts have claimed that killing shipwrecked survivors is a war crime. Bradley is briefing leaders on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
Original reporting by the Washington Post claimed that direction came from the top: Hegseth had directed the commander to ‘kill them all.’ But Hegseth claimed he issued no such directive and did not witness the second strike. He said Bradley made the decision on his own, but he stands by it. U.S. officials who spoke with the New York Times said Hegseth did not order the second strike.