Pentagon’s Acting Inspector General Launches Probe Into SignalGate

The Pentagon’s Acting Inspector General announced Thursday that he is reviewing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of an encrypted messaging app to discuss a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen, last month.

Although the March 15 military operation was executed flawlessly, fallout over what has been dubbed “SignalGate” has continued unabated, fueled largely by Democrats in Congress who have been agitating tirelessly for Hegseth to step down.

On March 25, left-wing lawfare group American Oversight filed a lawsuit against Hegseth and the other Trump officials who were in the chat, alleging that they violated record retention laws. That case is being handled by none other than U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee and key Russia hoax player, who last month ordered the Trump administration to immediate stop  deporting illegal gang members to El Salvador.

Meanwhile, Axios reported on Thursday that several members of Trump’s National Security Council were fired after MAGA activist and influencer Laura Loomer “visited the Oval Office and pressed Trump to fire specific NSC staffers.”

Now Acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins is investigating whether Hegseth and other defense officials violated department policy by using the app, according to the Associated Press.

“The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business. Additionally, we will review compliance with classification and records retention requirements,” the acting inspector general, Steven Stebbins, said in a notification letter to Hegseth.

In his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last month, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the use of Signal among intelligence officials was permissible, routine, and preceded the current administration.

The IG investigation, launched at the request of Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and ranking member Sen. Jack Reed (R.I), will reportedly take place in Washington, D.C. and at the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

The Inspector General’s Office requests two points of contact from the Secretary of Defense for the duration of the investigation, a Government employee who is knowledgeable of the subject, and General/Flag Officer who is familiar with the subject and can act as point of engagement with the DoD Office of Inspector General.

The “SignalGate” controversy erupted when Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was somehow included in a Signal group chat discussing plans about the attack on Houthis in Yemen. Goldberg publicized the chat in the Atlantic, withholding details purportedly over national security concerns.

After multiple Trump officials denied that any “classified materials” or “war plans” were discussed, the Atlantic published the entire group chat, showing that Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth had posted the “exact times American aircraft were taking off for Yemen” 31 minutes before the first warplanes launched.

Hegseth hit back with a statement on March 26, saying: “So, let me get this straight. The Atlantic released the so-called “war plans” and those ‘plans’ include: No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information. Those are some really shitty war plans. This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an “attack plan” (as he now calls it). Not even close.”

The Defense Sec. added: “As I type this, my team and I are traveling the INDOPACOM region, meeting w/ Commanders (the guys who make REAL “war plans”) and talking to troops. We will continue to do our job, while the media does what it does best: peddle hoaxes.”