Another day, another leak.
CNN and The Washington Post on Wednesday reported that sources say the Pentagon Inspector General has ‘evidence’ that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Signal chat included classified information from Central Command.
The Pentagon Inspector General expanded his investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the double-encrypted app Signal in May.
Steven Stebbins took over as Acting Inspector General after President Trump fired the previous IG and 17 other inspectors general.
Stebbins was first appointed to his position in 2015.
Pete Hegseth has been under heavy attack since before his confirmation hearing and the leaks keep coming.
The Pentagon Inspector General expanded his probe following The Wall Street Journal’s reporting on Hegseth’s wife and brother participating in Signal chat groups.
Pete Hegseth was blamed for not noticing Jeffrey Goldberg was added to the Signal chat group with other high-level Trump Administration officials.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell responded to the latest leak in a statement to CNN: “This Signal narrative is so old and worn out, it’s starting to resemble Joe Biden’s mental state. The Department stands behind its previous statements: no classified information was shared via Signal. As we’ve said repeatedly, nobody was texting war plans and the success of the Department’s recent operations–from Operation Rough Rider to Operation Midnight Hammer–are proof that our operational security and discipline are top notch.”
CNN reported:
The Pentagon’s inspector general has received evidence that the military plans shared from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Signal account to a group chat earlier this year were taken from a US Central Command document that was marked classified at the time, according to two people familiar with the ongoing review.
The Pentagon watchdog, which launched a review in April of Hegseth’s use of the commercial messaging app to share information related to US military operations in Yemen, obtained the document in the early days of its investigation, the sources said. The document was marked Secret/NOFORN, meaning no foreign nationals should see it.
The IG’s possession of the document with its original classification markings appears to further undercut Hegseth’s claims that nothing classified was shared in the Signal chat, which included several other Cabinet members and Vice President JD Vance. Similar details were shared from Hegseth’s phone in a second Signal chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, CNN has reported.
New: The Pentagon’s inspector general has received evidence that the military plans shared from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Signal account were taken from a US Central Command document that was marked classified at the time, sources tell me and @ZcohenCNN
The Pentagon…
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) July 23, 2025
The latest leak comes after it was reported there is a plot by a group of military officers and civilian Pentagon staff to force Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth out of office through a public pressure campaign.
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