WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth divulged classified information in March from battlefield commanders about the U.S. attack on Houthi rebels in a chat on the commercial messaging app Signal, according to a U.S. official.
The Washington Post reported on July 23 that the Pentagon Inspector General, which is reviewing the matter, has evidence that the information Hegseth shared detailing the timing of U.S. airstrikes came from a classified email.
The message was classified as secret information when Gen. Erik Kurilla, the commander of U.S. Central Command, sent it to Hegseth, a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly, told USA TODAY.
The Pentagon stood by its contention that the information Hegseth revealed on the Signal chat, which had inadvertently included a journalist from The Atlantic, wasn’t secret.
More: Trump adviser Michael Waltz defends Signal use, says he stayed on White House payroll
“The Department stands behind its previous statements: no classified information was shared via Signal,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said in a statement. “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.”
Rough Rider is the name of the operation to bomb Houthi rebels in Yemen who have attacked ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis agreed not to target U.S. ships after heavy bombardment there. Midnight Hammer is the name for the U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hegseth’s Signal messages were classified info from battle commanders
