The Pentagon did not conduct a routine investigation into the affect of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s disclosure of delicate navy data in a group chat on Signal earlier this yr and whether it damaged national security – partly as a result of Hegseth by no means licensed it, in response to a number of sources acquainted with the matter.
A classification assessment and injury evaluation would usually be initiated following any unauthorized disclosure of delicate protection data, partly, to look at whether sources and strategies or ongoing US navy and intelligence operations have been compromised in a method that will require mitigation.
Hegseth did not order an evaluation, two former senior officers who had been working on the Pentagon on the time and a present US official with data of the state of affairs stated.
After the Signal messages got here to gentle, Hegseth, as a substitute turned his consideration inward and targeted on formally investigating suspected leakers on his personal employees, even threatening to polygraph protection officers he believed had been disclosing doubtlessly embarrassing particulars about him, a number of present and former officers stated. Those threats had a “chilling effect” amongst DoD officers who grew to become more and more cautious of doing something that may very well be perceived by Hegseth as an try to undercut him, in response to these officers.
The information that the Pentagon did not perform a injury evaluation or conduct an inner classification assessment comes days after an inner watchdog report was released that concluded Hegseth risked endangering American troops by sharing extremely delicate assault plans concentrating on Houthi rebels in Yemen. The sources stated they’d have anticipated a injury evaluation to be carried out individually to determine the sensible implications of the Signal disclosure, partly, as a result of the Inspector General probe had a restricted scope.
“100% a breach like that would warrant a top-to bottom damage assessment by both DoD and the IC,” one of many sources, the previous senior protection official advised NCS, referring to Hegseth’s function in Signalgate.
The Pentagon additionally has no plans to research the incident additional — even after the IG concluded Hegseth actions violated DoD rules and risked compromising delicate navy plans, in response to a supply acquainted with the matter.
Hegseth has mischaracterized the report’s findings, claiming “total exoneration” and “no classified information” though the watchdog declined to weigh in on his classification authority or whether a compromise occurred – acknowledging its investigation was restricted in scope, partly, as a result of the secretary refused to cooperate.
“A damage assessment is forward-looking and focused on risk rather than personal culpability. Even without the official’s cooperation, analysts can evaluate what material was shared, who had access to it, and any potential operational or counterintelligence implications. In that sense, a damage assessment would not have been constrained by the same limitations that hampered the IG investigation,” in response to Brianna Rosen, a former White House official specializing in national security and tech coverage.
A senior pentagon official advised NCS that the division waits for the IG report earlier than making the dedication a couple of injury evaluation – and for the reason that IG report discovered no categorised information was shared, there was no want for a injury evaluation.
But that’s not according to how different present and former officers defined the method.
Inspectors basic would not usually be chargeable for figuring out whether a compromise of categorised materials occurred, in response to Irvin McCullough, director of national security on the Government Accountability Project, who famous that’s often carried out by the division’s security officers by means of a injury evaluation.
“I’d 100 percent expect a damage assessment,” McCullough advised NCS. “If they did not do a damage assessment, I’d imagine it’s because the Original Classification Authority/originator determined there was no compromise,” he stated.
In this case, the IG report suggests that call would have possible been made by Hegseth.
For Hegseth’s use of Signal, a injury evaluation would have examined how the data was transmitted, why it was categorised at that degree and assessed the chance from intelligence to what injury it might trigger, the US official added.
The Pentagon’s Joint Staff and US Central Command, which carried out the strikes in Yemen, did not require Hegseth’s express sign-off to open an investigation, however the secretary would have been notified if that they had and will have stopped it, the previous senior official and the present US official additionally advised NCS.
US intelligence companies and the FBI equally did not study the broader national security implications of Hegseth utilizing a industrial messaging app – on his private cellphone – to ship closely-guarded operational particulars about an imminent strike in Yemen regardless of considerations being raised that data might have jeopardized the security of US troops and mission goals, the sources stated.
No such evaluation happened after revelations that Hegseth used Signal, by way of his private cellphone, to ship detailed assault plans to different Trump officers and a reporter, regardless of US officers elevating fast considerations concerning the data’s sensitivity and his use of unsecure, non-government gadgets to share it, the sources stated.
Multiple present and former US officers advised NCS that was uncommon, notably for the reason that Pentagon inspector basic decided the data Hegseth shared was from a doc marked categorised on the time and spoke to witnesses who stated the secretary’s use of Signal went properly past the one group chat in query.
“Based on our review, we concluded that some information the Secretary sent from his personal cell phone on Signal on March 15, 2025, matched the operational information USCENTCOM sent and classified as SECRET//NOFORN,” the unclassified IG report states.
Former prosecutors who specialised in national security instances additionally advised NCS that below earlier administrations, investigators would have possible scrutinized whether Hegseth had used Signal for different delicate discussions past the chat on Yemen strike plans.
A 3rd former senior protection official famous, nonetheless, that the choice to conduct a injury evaluation is not automated and not uniform throughout instances – that means there’s not a single uniform template that have to be adopted in each circumstance.
“The decision to launch a damage assessment usually hinges on three factors: the extent of classified information that left controlled channels, the intelligence value that exposure might offer an adversary, and whether the incident reveals broader systemic vulnerabilities. When any of those elements are present, agencies generally err on the side of initiating an assessment because it guides mitigation responses and helps prevent future breaches,” Rosen advised NCS.
US intelligence companies and the FBI had been by no means contacted by the Pentagon to assist assess the potential injury induced by Hegseth’s disclosure, one other supply acquainted with the matter advised NCS.
US intelligence companies thought of it the Defense Department’s duty to provoke a injury evaluation as a result of the Pentagon was in command of the operation in query and particulars shared by Hegseth appeared to return from categorised navy channels. They additionally believed no categorised data of their very own was disclosed within the Signal messages revealed by the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg.
As a consequence, the intelligence group waited for a request to assist the Pentagon’s assessment, however it by no means got here, puzzling some officers who instantly recognized that the main points shared by Hegseth possible originated from categorised materials.
The IG report acknowledged Hegseth, as protection secretary, has broad authority to declassify data but additionally notes investigators had been unable to search out any documentation exhibiting he correctly did so on this case.
To correctly declassify the fabric, Hegseth would have needed to problem a proper written order notifying a number of prime Pentagon officers of his resolution on the time he claims to have made it, together with the DoD basic counsel, undersecretary for intelligence and CENTCOM.
Unlike the IG, Pentagon officers conducting a injury evaluation, if one had been carried out, would have been capable of study whether Hegseth adopted that course of with out relying solely on his cooperation, a number of present and former officers stated.
In some instances, just like the investigation into former national security adviser John Bolton’s dealing with of categorised data following the publication of his guide about his time working for Trump in 2020, injury assessments have uncovered proof that led to a felony prosecution.
Investigators inside Hegseth’s personal Defense Department have labored with the Department of Justice to prosecute different disclosures of delicate navy data.
Last week, the DoD and Justice Department introduced {that a} US Air Force colonel pleaded responsible to texting categorised plans about an upcoming navy operation to a girl who was not licensed to obtain it.
Those particulars included the operation’s timing, targets, strategies and goals – much like what Hegseth shared in at the least two group chats, together with one along with his spouse, brother and private lawyer.
In the announcement, officers stated the colonel admitted he knew his private devises had been not licensed to deal with categorised data and that the girl was not cleared to obtain it.
The Air Force colonel now faces as much as 10 years in federal jail after pleading responsible to at least one rely of unauthorized communication of national protection data.
NCS’s Evan Perez and Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report.