By Olivia Gazis — Updated Dec. 3, 2025 / CBS News
Washington — The Pentagon’s internal watchdog concluded Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth jeopardized sensitive military information and could have endangered U.S. service members by posting details about U.S. operations in Yemen to a private Signal group chat earlier this year, according to two people familiar with the inspector general’s findings.
Those sources told CBS News the IG found Hegseth used his personal device for official business in violation of Defense Department rules, transmitting information that was derived from a classified email marked “SECRET//NOFORN.” The classified version of the inspector general’s report was sent to Congress Tuesday, and an unredacted version was expected to be released Thursday. CNN first reported the IG’s conclusions.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell issued a statement calling the review “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 posted on X that the review was a “total exoneration” and that “No classified information. Total exoneration. Case closed.”
The IG report, the sources said, confirmed CBS News reporting from July that key details Hegseth posted to the encrypted chat were drawn from a classified email provided by Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, then commander of U.S. Central Command. The “SECRET” marking indicates the information was classified and that unauthorized disclosure could cause serious harm to national security and to personnel. The “NOFORN” label restricts dissemination to U.S. agencies and individuals and bars sharing with foreign nationals.
Sources said the IG concluded that had the Signal-posted information been intercepted by a foreign adversary, it would have clearly endangered U.S. service members and the mission. The report did not determine whether Hegseth had declassified the information before posting it to the group chat, which included several top Trump officials and accidentally included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic. Goldberg published the Signal chat story in March.
A day after The Atlantic’s report, U.S. Africa Command, in coordination with Somalia’s government, carried out multiple airstrikes near the Golis Mountains against ISIS-Somalia affiliates; AFRICOM later said multiple ISIS-Somalia operatives were killed. Following the Signal revelations, CBS News filed a FOIA request seeking similar unclassified information about AFRICOM’s March 25 strike. AFRICOM responded in September that the material remained properly classified and that releasing it would “foreseeably harm national security,” a determination signed by Maj. Gen. Matthew Trollinger, chief of staff to AFRICOM’s commander.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the IG 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 protecting sensitive information and that President Trump stands by Hegseth.
Top Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees called for Hegseth’s resignation after the IG findings were reported. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner said the report notes the IG is aware of “several other Signal chats Hegseth used for official business,” indicating the chat at issue was not an isolated lapse and reflecting, Warner said, “a broader pattern of recklessness and poor judgment.” Rep. Jim Himes said Hegseth’s conduct “would be a fireable offense for anyone else in the Department of Defense” and criticized Hegseth’s refusal to sit for an IG interview or to submit his device for examination.
The IG’s review also highlighted concerns about Hegseth’s broader use of Signal for official matters. Hegseth has downplayed the episode in public appearances; at a Fox Nation event last month he joked, “I see Mike Waltz — Mike, I’ll hit you up on Signal later,” referencing the controversy.