"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the inspector general investigators looking into his alleged use of Signal to share classified strike plans that he determined the details he shared either weren't classified to begin with or were "safe to declassify," according to a written statement included in a report released Thursday by the Defense Department's independent oversight office."
""The Secretary sent nonpublic DOD information identifying the quantity and strike times of manned U.S. aircraft over hostile territory over an unapproved, unsecure network approximately 2 to 4 hours before the execution of those strikes," the report found. "Using a personal cell phone to conduct official business and send nonpublic DOD information through Signal risks potential compromise of sensitive DoD information, which could cause harm to DOD personnel and mission objectives.""
""The United States military has successfully managed operations for two and a half centuries without the use of an instant messaging application, and why the secretary felt the need to use that application-while sitting in the SCIF and with access at his fingertips to the two more appropriate communication tools-he chose to use this unapproved tool"
Pete Hegseth said he determined the details he shared were either not classified or safe to declassify. Investigators determined he nonetheless violated department policy by transmitting nonpublic DoD information that could have endangered service members, specifically Navy pilots on a March 15 mission against Houthi targets. He sent information identifying the quantity and strike times of manned U.S. aircraft over hostile territory via an unapproved, unsecured messaging application on his personal cell phone roughly two to four hours before the strikes. He did not use approved channels and failed to retain official correspondence for sensitive operational details.
Read at Nextgov.com
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