Exclusive: Watchdog finds Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing sensitive war plans on Signal, sources say

By Zachary Cohen, Jake Tapper, CNN

(CNN) — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information, which could have endangered American troops and mission objectives, when he used Signal in March of this year to share highly-sensitive attack plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to four sources familiar with the contents of a classified Inspector General report.

The repercussions of Hegseth’s action, two sources told CNN, are less clear since the IG concluded that the defense secretary has the authority to declassify information and Hegseth asserted he made an operational decision in the moment to share that information, though there is no documentation of such a decision.

An unclassified version of the report is set to be publicly released Thursday. The classified report was sent to Congress on Tuesday night.

Messages sent from Hegseth’s Signal account to the group chat, the contents of which sources previously confirmed to CNN included material from documents marked classified at the time they were sent, offered specific, real-time updates about planned military strikes. They were so specific that one even read: “This is when the first bombs will drop.”

It remains unclear if Hegseth properly declassified that information before sharing it with other top Trump officials, and a reporter, the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, who was accidentally added to the chat.

Hegseth refused to sit for an interview with the inspector general and submitted his version of events in writing, sources told CNN.

The IG’s findings are memorialized in a broader report produced after its months-long investigation into Hegseth’s use of Signal.

The report states that Hegseth should not have used Signal and that senior Defense Department officials need better training on protocols, the sources said.

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.

The release of the investigation could compound existing concerns voiced by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle about Hegseth’s judgement and bring renewed attention to an issue that nearly led to his firing several months ago, CNN has reported.

This is a developing story and will be updated

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report

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