Classified Pentagon watchdog report on Hegseth’s use of Signal sent to lawmakers

By Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — A classified final version of the Pentagon inspector general’s report into Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal to discuss sensitive military operations has been delivered to the House and Senate Armed Services committees for review, three people familiar with the matter told CNN.

A declassified, redacted version of the report is expected to be released publicly on Thursday, two of the sources said.

The investigation, which began in April at the request of the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was completed in September, CNN reported. But the inspector general’s office has been going back and forth with Hegseth for several months over edits to the report, the sources said. It is standard practice for the IG to allow the subject of a review to provide input and request changes.

CNN has reached out to the Office of the Inspector General and Office of the Secretary of Defense for comment.

The Pentagon’s inspector general launched the review after The Atlantic revealed that Hegseth had shared information from his Signal account related to US military operations in Yemen, which included precise details about the timing, choreography and assets involved in pending US strikes against the Houthi rebel group.

Following that report, the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee requested an IG review to determine whether Hegseth violated any laws related to the handling of classified information or records retention for federal employees.

Hegseth’s Signal account shared details about the anti-Houthi military operation in at least two separate group chats, one of which included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer, CNN has reported. One witness told the inspector general’s office over the course of the review that they recalled being a part of about a dozen separate Signal chats that included Hegseth, but it’s not clear if they all contained sensitive operational details, CNN also reported.

The inspector general examined whether anyone else could have physically entered the information into the Signal chat at Hegseth’s request, and asked witnesses whether others had access to his phone.

The inspector general also received evidence that the military plans disclosed by Hegseth’s account were taken from a US Central Command document that was marked classified at the time.

The document was marked Secret/NOFORN, meaning no foreign nationals should see it, CNN reported. Hegseth has original classification authority, so he was authorized to declassify any information before he shared it, sources told CNN at the time. But it’s unclear if he did so.

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