A leak from the inspector general of the Pentagon reportedly points to Pete Hegseth’s use of the messaging app Signal, which was used to communicate sensitive information, putting in danger a military operation.
A preview of the inspector general’s report, which was made available on Wednesday, was provided by media reports that were scheduled to be released in full on Thursday.
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According to anonymous sources close to the document, Hegseth’s use of a personal device to transmit sensitive information was deemed to be against Pentagon policy.
The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, wrote an article describing an extraordinary series of events that dominated the inspector general’s report.
According to Goldberg, he described how, on March 11, he was allegedly invited by then-national security adviser Mike Waltz to a Signal chat.
Despite not knowing whether the message was a hoax, Goldberg accepted the invitation. He claimed that he was caught in the middle of a conversation with some of the most senior officials in the administration two days later.
Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, and State Secretary Marco Rubio were just two of the participants.
Trump defends Signal conversation.
Hegseth reportedly provided information in advance about a Yemeni Houthi rebel attack on March 15. In the Signal chat, it was reported that he had already disclosed details. The F-18 planes would launch at what precise time, when the drones would arrive, and when both parties would launch airstrikes, were given.
The Trump administration, particularly Waltz and Hegseth, were outraged by Goldberg’s reporting on the conversation.
Some critics criticized the dangers that the messages to US military installations abroad posed, with some expressing concern that if the Signal chat had been intercepted, it might have endedanger service members’ lives.
In order to ensure compliance with operational security standards, this week’s inspector general report recommends more training.
However, it is left to wonder whether the information Hegseth transmitted over Signal was actually classified at the time.
Instead, the inspector general makes the case that Hegseth, the secretary of defense, has the authority to set the classification level of military intelligence and could have declassified it if he so desired.
Hegseth’s office’s spokesperson, Sean Parnell, described the finding as a victory for the troubled defence secretary, who has long denied that “war plans” were shared over the messaging app.
No classified information was shared, Parnell wrote in a statement, arguing that the Inspector General review is “a TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth and proves what we knew all along.”
The case is now complete and the issue has been resolved.
Parnell also criticized the media for highlighting the dangers the information posed to US military personnel.
“This conclusion is supported by no evidence,” the statement continues. In response to a New York Times article that highlighted the potential risks, Parnell wrote, “No”.
Parnell argued that no troops were in harm’s way because of Operation Rough Rider’s “flawless execution &, success” (the name of the Yemen bombing campaign).
President Trump has previously referred to the aftermath of the scandal as a “witch-hunt” and questioned whether Signal itself was “defective.”
The scandal, known as Signalgate, has been referred to as “case closed” by administration officials on numerous occasions. In contrast, Hegseth hasn’t been subjected to any public reprimands for his participation in the conversation.
A “breach in protocol”
However, Chuck Schumer, the head of the Senate Democratic Party, has criticized the conversation as one of the “most stunning breaches of military intelligence” in recent memory.
Some claimed that the Signal messages had been intercepted by foreign intelligence agents. Some people claimed Signal’s auto-delete feature violated government transparency guidelines, which call for secure storage of documentation.
Democrats and some Republicans pressed for Hegseth’s actions to be investigated. Gerald Connolly, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee at the time, echoed that request in a letter from March 26.
He wrote, “I request that you launch an investigation into this grave lapse in protocol and national trust.”
“The use of Signal to communicate this information embarrassed our adversaries by exposing the careless behavior of our nation’s senior leaders.” “The use of Signal jeopardized the lives of men and women in the military.
The Pentagon’s acting inspector general, Steven Stebbins, responded to the outcry on April 3. He explained that the Senate Armed Services Committee’s leadership had prompted him to launch a probe.
In a brief, one-page memo, Stebbins wrote, “The purpose of this evaluation is to find out how closely the Secretary of Defense and other DoD [Department of Defense] personnel adhered to DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business.”
Additionally, we will examine whether the classification and records retention requirements are met.
In January, Stebbins took over the position of acting inspector general under Trump’s leadership of a government watchdog purge.
More than a dozen inspectors general, the nonpartisan officials tasked with overseeing various executive agencies, were fired on January 24 just before the start of his second term.
Source: Aljazeera
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