Washington, December 3 (EFE). – An independent Pentagon commission concluded that US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth violated military regulations by sharing information in a group chat on Signal about an impending military operation in Yemen that was considered classified, according to a report issued by the Department of Defense Inspector General.
The report explains that the investigation, which spanned more than eight months, looked into Hegseth’s use of Signal, an encrypted but unclassified messaging app, to publish details of the US attacks planned in March before they were carried out.
Despite these violations, Hegseth has “inherent classification authority” and has the authority to declassify intelligence at his discretion.
The inspector general did not evaluate whether Hegseth followed appropriate procedures to declassify the information shared, two officials said, according to NBC News.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell noted that the review represents “a complete vindication of Secretary Hegseth and shows what we knew all along: No classified information was exchanged.”
Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor, was leading key strategic operations, raising concerns about the potential leak of sensitive information.
Analysts and lawmakers have followed the case closely, stressing the importance of maintaining secrecy in international military operations.
Although the report confirms that Hegseth violated the rules, the official acquittal indicates that there will be no additional disciplinary sanctions. This finding highlights the fine line between classification authority and the proper handling of sensitive information within the Pentagon.
The case also led to the firing of another senior official linked to the Yemen operation, Mike Waltz, the former White House national security adviser, who left his post on May 1, 2025 following investigations into the leak. Evie