Pentagon watchdog opens investigation into use of Signal for Yemen attack plans

The Pentagon’s Inspector General’s office said on Thursday it was opening an investigation into US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of an unclassified commercial texting app to coordinate on the highly sensitive March 15 launch of US strikes on Yemen’s Houthis.

In a memorandum addressed to Hegseth, the Inspector General’s office said it would examine whether Hegseth’s use of Signal met Defence Department guidelines and appeared set to look at whether the information provided was or should have been classified.

Hegseth has repeatedly said no classified information was revealed in the chat, even though it included precise times for the launch of US air strikes and some targeting details that are regarded as closely guarded secrets ahead of a surprise military operation such as the one in Yemen.

“The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defence and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business,” wrote Steven Stebbins, the acting Inspector General.

“Additionally, we will review compliance with classification and records retention requirements.”