Pentagon’s Signalgate report finds Pete Hegseth violated military policies

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been found to have violated military policies after a Signal group chat leak in 2025, according to the Pentagon's inspector general. Hegseth was accused of using a non-approved messaging app to send classified information ahead of a military strike in Yemen. The report, which was released on December 4, found that Hegseth had used "nonspecific general details" about the strike and risked compromising sensitive information.

The investigation, led by Inspector General Steven Stebbins, revealed that Hegseth's actions did not comply with Department of Defense (DoD) policies. The report stated that Hegseth had used a commercially available messaging application to send nonpublic DoD information, which is against military rules.

Hegseth responded to the investigation in July, stating that he had shared "nonspecific general details" about the strike and declined interview requests. However, the report found that Hegseth's actions posed a risk of compromising sensitive information, potentially putting lives at risk.

The investigation was unable to recover all of the chat logs due to an auto-delete function on the messaging app used by the group, but it relied on reporting from The Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg to gather some of the relevant discussions.

Armed Services Committee member Senator Mark Kelly stated that while Hegseth's actions were not explicitly illegal, they still constituted a violation of DoD regulations. "It said he was in violation of some DOD regulations... so whether that’s breaking the law, you got to figure that out," Kelly said.

The full report is available online and provides further details on the investigation and its findings.

oh man, defense secretary pete hegseth's got a lot of 'splainin' to do . using a non-approved messaging app to send classified info is like, major security breach alert . can't believe he thought it was okay to put lives at risk just for convenience . and what's with the "nonspecific general details" excuse? seems like an attempt to cover up his own mistakes . anyway, gotta give props to inspector general steven stebbins for keeping an eye on things . hope hegseth gets some serious training on military protocols ASAP .

this is super worrying news... i mean, who uses a non-approved messaging app to send classified info? it's like, what if that info falls into the wrong hands ? i'm all for efficiency and flexibility in the workplace, but not at the cost of national security . i hope Secretary Hegseth is held accountable for his actions , but at the same time, i feel like this whole thing could have been prevented if they had just used a secure, approved system from the get-go . we need to make sure our military leaders are taking this stuff seriously and following protocol .

"Pete Hegseth's messin' around with classified info on a non-approved app? Yeah, that's a major red flag! "

Pete Hegseth shoulda used the military's secure messaging app like everyone else! Who uses a civilian app for classified info?

I gotta say, this is pretty wild . I mean, who thought it was a good idea to use a messaging app that auto-deletes your chat logs? It's like they wanted to keep things casual... meanwhile, we're talking lives at risk here. The fact that he didn't even bother to delete the logs himself is just shady. And what really gets me is that someone from The Atlantic had to come in and help piece together what happened. Talk about a PR nightmare! It's not like he was malicious or anything, but come on, Pete, you're the Defense Secretary! You should know better than to get caught up in a group chat

Man, this is just wild ... Defense Sec Pete Hegseth was using a non-approved messaging app like it's going out of style? Like what's next, using TikTok to send top-secret intel? But seriously, I get that mistakes happen, and it's not like he intentionally tried to put lives at risk. The auto-delete function on the messaging app is pretty sketchy though... how could you even rely on an app with a feature like that?

I do feel bad for Hegseth, though - getting called out like this can be tough, especially in high-stress positions like Defense Sec. And I guess Senator Kelly's point about it not being explicitly illegal is a good one... it's all about context and gray areas, you know? Still, gotta wonder what other secrets were shared on that group chat .

lol what's going on with these guys ??! Defense Sec Pete Hegseth gets caught sendin' classified info via a messaging app that's not even approved for military use and now he's all like "oh, I didn't do nothin'"?

I mean, come on, Pete! You're in charge of defendin' this country, not tryna be some kinda ninja with a secret messaging app . And what's up with these military policies being so lax anyway? I get it, mistakes happen, but this is a big deal, dude!

And Senator Kelly is like "oh, it was just a regulation thingy" ... yeah, okay, Pete's in the doghouse now . This whole thing just looks like a huge mess and I'm not sure how we're supposed to trust our defense sec when he can't even be bothered to follow the rules

I'm not surprised, mate. It's like they say, "with great power comes great responsibility". You can't just throw around classified info like it's going out of style. I mean, what if that info ended up in the wrong hands? It's a big deal, especially when you're talking about military ops and stuff.

I'm literally shook about this whole thing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. I mean, how could he be so reckless ? He's got all that clearance for a reason, right? And to think he was using some shady messaging app without proper security measures... it's just basic common sense . But at the same time... I don't know, man... maybe he didn't do anything wrong . The report says he broke DoD policies, but like, what exactly is an "approved" messaging app, anyway? And all this talk about compromising sensitive info... it's just so vague . I need more context before I can even try to form an opinion . Maybe Hegseth was just trying to protect lives by getting the strike details out ASAP ? The more I think about it, the more my head is spinning .

idk how ppl still manage 2 mess with classified info like wut's next? nysay, Defense Sec Pete Hegseth gets caught slippin' & he's got a lot of splainin' 2 do... btw, who uses a non-approved messaging app 2 send sensitive info?! seems 2 me like he was just tryna keep it low-key . kudos 2 the inspector gen for gettin on top of this tho!

I cant believe what's going on with Defense Sec Pete Hegseth! Back in my day we used secure lines and didn't have these fancy messaging apps to mess around with. If you're gonna send classified info, you gotta do it right or not at all. I mean, can you imagine if that stuff got out? It's a wonder no one was hurt yet. These new-fangled apps are supposed to be secure, but clearly they ain't foolproof. And what's with this "nonspecific general details" crap? That's just a fancy way of saying "we don't wanna get caught". Anyway, I guess you can't expect people to follow rules all the time, especially when it comes to sensitive info. Still, as a soldier or someone in the military, you gotta know better. We should be setting an example, not breaking the ones we set for others.

this is a pretty big deal for the Pentagon. I mean, using a non-approved messaging app to send classified info is a major breach of security. How could they not know about it? And what's with the auto-delete function on that app? Sounds like a pretty dodgy move to me . Sources say it was just a casual group chat, but that doesn't excuse the risks involved. I need to see more about how this went down before I can fully trust the report... where did The Atlantic get their info from btw? Should be easy enough to fact-check

idk how can defence sec be so careless?? this is like a movie plot where someone sends classified info over a group chat lol what if it gets leaked to the press?! this could've cost lives or put people in danger, and he's just trying to brush it off with "nonspecific general details" meanwhile senator mark kelly is like "okay so maybe he didn't break the law but still a big no-no" and now the report is online for everyone to see... gotta be accountable for this kinda thing, you feel?

omg, can't believe this ... just think about it, a defense sec like pete hegseth messin' with classified info on some non-approved app ... i got a diagram that makes sense of this btw [ ASCII art: a broken lock with a key slipping out ]

so basically, he's supposed to be all secure and whatnot, but instead he's chillin' in a group chat, sharin' info w/ his squad ... and we're talkin' about lives on the line here . it's like, what if some bad guys got their hands on that info?

anywayz, senor kelly is sayin' it's not exactly illegal, but still a doozy of a regulation fail ... i guess we can't really condone or condemn without seein' the full report tho .

omg cant believe this just saw the news about Pete Hegseth violating military policies by using a non-approved messaging app in 2025 like what was he thinking? sending classified info is super serious stuff, you gotta be way more careful than that. dont know if i would have done the same thing tho, couldve been an honest mistake? anyway, kinda surprised the Pentagon took so long to release this report, hope something gets done about it

I'm surprised at this news about Pete Hegseth, it seems like a major breach of trust considering he's in charge of defense. I mean, we're talking classified info here, which is supposed to be super secure. Using a non-approved app to send sensitive information ahead of a strike just doesn't seem right. And the fact that an auto-delete function on the messaging app made it hard for investigators to gather all the chat logs? That's not cool at all . I guess you can say Hegseth took some risks with the safety of lives involved in the military operation. It'll be interesting to see what happens next, maybe a reassignment or something?