By Olivia Gazis
Updated on: December 4, 2025 / 9:05 PM EST / CBS News
Washington — The Pentagon’s inspector general found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated Defense Department policies and federal record-keeping law by using his personal phone to share sensitive information about U.S. military operations in Yemen in a private Signal group chat earlier this year, and that doing so could have endangered American service members, according to a report released Thursday.
The IG concluded Hegseth transmitted nonpublic DoD information from his personal device to other senior Trump administration officials and to the editor in chief of The Atlantic. The report said those actions risked compromise of sensitive information and “created a risk to operational security that could have resulted in failed U.S. mission objectives and potential harm to U.S. pilots.” A classified version of the report was sent to Congress; an unredacted version was released Thursday.
Hegseth and his office also violated federal law by failing to retain official records. While the IG noted the secretary has authority to declassify information, investigators found that some material Hegseth sent from his phone on March 15, 2025, matched operational information USCENTCOM had classified as SECRET/NOFORN. Per U.S. Central Command guidance, operational aircraft movements should be classified SECRET.
Defense Department manuals require the defense secretary, when downgrading or declassifying information, to notify recipients and to use appropriate classification markers. The IG said Hegseth did not notify individuals in the Signal chat that he had declassified the information, nor did he notify U.S. Central Command, which would have continued to treat the material as classified.
The IG emphasized that the “SECRET” designation means disclosure without proper declassification could cause serious damage to national security and jeopardize service members’ safety. “NOFORN” restricts dissemination to U.S. agencies and persons only, excluding foreign nationals and allies.
Hegseth declined an in-person interview with the IG and answered questions in writing. He did not provide his personal cell phone for examination. His office supplied some messages that matched those published by The Atlantic but excluded messages that had auto-deleted because of chat settings. The IG was told Hegseth posted the same information in other Signal chats and requested those messages, but without access to the secretary’s phone, investigators could not verify whether other chats contained sensitive or classified DoD information.
Sources familiar with the probe told CBS News the IG found that had the information been intercepted by a foreign adversary, it could have clearly endangered U.S. troops and mission outcomes.
A day after The Atlantic published the Signal chat story, U.S. Africa Command, working with Somalia’s government, conducted multiple airstrikes against ISIS-Somalia near the Golis Mountains, stating that multiple operatives were killed. After administration officials said the Signal-chat information was unclassified, CBS News filed a FOIA request to U.S. Africa Command seeking comparable details about a March 25 Somalia airstrike. AFRICOM responded in September that the material at issue was properly classified under Executive Order 13526 and that releasing it would foreseeably harm national security, a determination signed by Maj. Gen. Matthew Trollinger on behalf of AFRICOM leadership.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Wednesday the review was “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.” Hegseth likewise posted on X calling the review a “total exoneration” and stating, “No classified information. Total exoneration. Case closed. Houthis bombed into submission. Thank you for your attention to this IG report.”
The report noted the secretary’s authority to declassify but concluded that some messages matched USCENTCOM’s SECRET/NOFORN operational information. The IG said the disclosure without proper process risked operational security. Hegseth’s decision not to provide his phone meant some messages that had auto-deleted could not be reviewed, and the IG could not verify content from other chats.
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the IG’s review “affirms what the Administration has said from the beginning — no classified information was leaked, and operational security was not compromised,” adding that the President’s national security team is “doing great work advancing American interests while protecting sensitive information,” and that the President stands by Hegseth.
Top Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees called for Hegseth’s resignation. Sen. Mark Warner said the IG was aware of several other Signal chats Hegseth used for official business, suggesting the issue was not isolated and reflected “a broader pattern of recklessness and poor judgment.” Rep. Jim Himes said Hegseth’s behavior would be a fireable offense for others in the Defense Department and criticized his refusal to submit his device for examination. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a veteran on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the report “a jaw-dropping breach of our national security” and said Hegseth should resign immediately. Duckworth said sharing operational timing—such as aircraft positions 30 minutes after drone strikes—was clearly classified and dangerous, and that claiming unilateral declassification after the fact did not excuse the conduct.
The IG report documented that some Signal messages matching those later published had auto-deleted before the IG could capture them. Investigators sought copies from other group chats Hegseth used but, lacking his phone, could not fully verify their contents.
Hegseth previously made light of the “Signalgate” controversy at a public event, joking he would “hit you up on Signal later” to a sitting U.N. ambassador in the crowd.
Kaia Hubbard and Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.
In: Signal; Yemen; Pete Hegseth; United States Department of Defense