Pentagon IG blasts Hegseth for releasing detail of Houthi raid

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing his most serious scrutiny yet after a Pentagon watchdog concluded he risked exposing sensitive military plans — and potentially endangering U.S. troops — by blasting out strike details over a casual Signal group chat that included his wife, his lawyer, and even his brother

 

According to two individuals who read the classified report, the Pentagon inspector general found that the information Hegseth shared about a planned strike on Houthi targets in Yemen was properly classified by U.S. Central Command — directly contradicting Hegseth’s repeated public insistence that nothing he sent was sensitive. The IG determined that sharing operational timelines, weapons platforms, and attack sequencing on an unsecure messaging app posed a clear danger if intercepted.

 

Hegseth refused a sit-down interview with investigators, instead sending a written response arguing that he has the power to classify and declassify information at will. He further insisted the details he shared “were not sensitive” and would not endanger troops — a position the IG flatly rejected.

 

His defiance didn’t end there. On Wednesday night, Hegseth declared on X: “No classified information. Total exoneration. Case closed,” despite the fact that the IG’s conclusions say no such thing.

 

The White House tried to minimize the fallout, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stating that no operational security was compromised and that “President Trump stands by Secretary Hegseth.” But congressional Democrats were not buying it. Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, blasted the findings as “a damning review,” calling Hegseth “an incompetent secretary” who displayed “poor judgment” and a troubling refusal to cooperate.

 

The watchdog’s probe began after The Atlantic revealed a Signal chat including Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz — and, by accident, The Atlantic’s own editor Jeffrey Goldberg, who had been mistakenly added. In that chat, Hegseth openly spelled out strike timing and attack methods: F-18s, Tomahawk missiles, and even the exact moment bombs would drop.

 

A second chat, this time including Hegseth’s wife, his brother, and his personal lawyer Tim Parlatore, reportedly contained similar details. Parlatore now argues the IG’s concerns represent only a “small portion” of a broader report that otherwise “exonerates” his client. He dismissed the troop-endangerment assessment as “unsupported opinion.”

 

Investigators asked to review Hegseth’s personal phone — a routine request in national-security leak probes — but he refused on privacy grounds and claimed the IG lacked jurisdiction.

 

The March 15 Yemen strike unfolded exactly as Hegseth described in the chats, hitting dozens of Houthi missile, radar, and air-defense sites.

 

Senior intelligence officials including CIA Director John Ratcliffe and DNI Tulsi Gabbard publicly backed Hegseth earlier in the year, insisting the chats contained no classified information. But congressional leaders, including Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, expressed alarm long before the IG report’s release, warning that the material “appears to be of such a sensitive nature that I would have wanted it classified.”

 

The unclassified portion of the IG’s findings is expected Thursday — but the political blast radius has already hit. And the question now hanging over Washington: did the Pentagon chief treat a war plan like a family group chat?

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Pentagon IG found Hegseth shared classified strike details on Signal, risking troop safety.

• Hegseth refused an interview and denied phone access; he maintains he did nothing wrong.

• White House backs him, while Congress calls the findings “damning” and warns of dangerous judgment.

 

Source: ABC News