Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a courtesy call at Kalayaan Hall, Malacañan Palace, on March 28, 2025.Yummie Dingding, PPA pool

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764804858050Screen Shot 2025-12-04 at 7.31.32 AM_cropped_processed_by_imagy.png" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a courtesy call at Kalayaan Hall, Malacañan Palace, on March 28, 2025.Yummie Dingding, PPA pool</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p>WASHINGTON, United States — The Pentagon&#x27;s independent watchdog said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth&#x27;s use of commercial messaging app Signal to discuss strikes on Yemen could have put American troops at risk, US media reported Wednesday.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/technology/2025/3/25/what-is-signal-and-is-it-secure-0750">What is Signal and is it secure?</a></div><p>However, the probe by the inspector general&#x27;s office concluded that Hegseth did not violate rules on classification because he has the authority to declassify information, the reports said, citing sources familiar with results of the investigation.</p><p>The watchdog&#x27;s conclusion—which has been transmitted to Congress—is nonetheless likely to reignite debate over conduct by Hegseth, who is already under fire over US strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that experts say amount to extrajudicial killings.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/4/21/trump-backs-pentagon-chief-despite-new-signal-chat-scandal-1319">Trump backs Pentagon chief despite new Signal chat scandal</a></div><p>The probe was sparked by the Atlantic magazine&#x27;s revelation in late March that its editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included in a Signal chat in which US officials, including Hegseth and then-national security advisor Mike Waltz, discussed strikes on Yemen&#x27;s Iran-backed Huthi rebels.</p><p>The magazine initially withheld the details the officials discussed, but later published them after the White House insisted that no classified information was shared and attacked Goldberg as a liar.</p><p>The chat included messages in which Hegseth revealed the timing of strikes hours before they happened and information on aircraft and missiles involved, while Waltz sent real-time intelligence on the aftermath of the military action.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WALTZ FIRED, HEGSETH SURVIVES</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The Atlantic said that Waltz had set some of the Signal messages to disappear after one week, and others after four, saying it raised questions about whether federal records law was violated.</p><p>Trump rejected calls for Hegseth to be fired and largely pinned the blame on Waltz, whom he ultimately replaced as national security advisor, appointing him as US ambassador to the United Nations instead.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/4/20/us-defense-chief-shared-sensitive-information-in-second-signal-chat-report-0657">US defense chief shared sensitive information in second Signal chat: report</a></div><p>US media then reported in April that Hegseth had created a second Signal chat in which the March Yemen strikes were discussed with people including his wife and brother, but the Pentagon chief likewise weathered that storm and remained in office.</p><p>The Huthis began targeting shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the Gaza war began in 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.</p><p>Huthi attacks prevented ships from passing through the Suez Canal, a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of world shipping traffic, forcing many companies into a costly detour around southern Africa.</p><p>The United States first began conducting strikes in response to the attacks under the Biden administration, and US forces launched a renewed air campaign against the Huthis on March 15.</p><p>Trump&#x27;s strikes against the Huthis lasted until early May, when a ceasefire agreement was reached with the help of Omani mediation.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ub8P5waITn4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z-yJcTjuDYQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The Pentagon's independent watchdog said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of commercial messaging app Signal to discuss strikes on Yemen could have put American troops at risk.</p>

The Pentagon's independent watchdog said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of commercial messaging app Signal to discuss strikes on Yemen could have put American troops at risk.

Probe found Hegseth's Signal use could have put US troops at risk: reports

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Probe found Hegseth's Signal use could have put US troops at risk: reports

Agence France-Presse

Published Dec 04, 2025 07:36 AM PHT

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