Updated December 3, 2025 at 12:33 PM PST
A Pentagon watchdog has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked the safety of U.S. servicemembers by sharing sensitive military information on the Signal messaging app, according to a source who has reviewed the forthcoming inspector general report.
The report, which is expected to be released as early as Thursday, was launched after a journalist for The Atlantic revealed in March that he had been added to a chat on the encrypted messaging app in which Hegseth and other top officials were discussing plans for U.S. airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
A summary of the report provided to NPR finds that had a foreign adversary intercepted the intelligence discussed in the chat, it would have endangered both U.S. servicemembers and the mission at large.
The investigation was conducted by Pentagon Inspector General Steven Stebbins. His findings were shared with NPR by a source who has seen the document but was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
The report concludes that Hegseth, who sent the information about targets, timing and aircraft to two Signal groups, including his wife and brother, violated Pentagon policies about using personal phones for official business. Hegseth would not sit for an interview with investigators, the report said, and would only provide a written response.
In his response, Hegseth stated that he was able to declassify information; the inspector general did not determine whether Hegseth had declassified information in the chat by the time it was shared, but acknowledged that, as secretary of defense, he had the authority to do so.
In a statement, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the findings absolved Hegseth of any wrongdoing.
"The 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," Parnell said.
NPR disclosure: Katherine Maher, the CEO of NPR, chairs the board of the Signal Foundation.
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