The head of the Pentagon will be investigated by … Pentagon, following the “Signalgate” scandal
The American Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, greets the guests from the event from the “Make America Wealthy Again” event in Rose Garden, at the White House, Washington, April 2, 2025. Photo: Pete Hegseth, Credit Line: Francis Chung / Political / AP / Profimedia
The inspector general of the Defense Department will investigate the use by his boss, Pete Hegseth, of the Signal encrypted messaging application, after violating the Security on American attacks on Houthi rebels, shows a note published on Thursday, according to AFP and Agerpres agencies.
The “Signalgate” scandal, which shook the Trump administration last week, was revealed by a journalist from The Atlantic magazine, added by mistake in a discussion group on the Signal application, where the highest administration officials were discussing future houthi rebels in Yemen.
The investigation will evaluate “the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other officials in the ministry have complied with policies and procedures regarding the use of commercial messaging applications for official purposes,” writes in the cited note.
“On the other hand, we will examine compliance with the requirements regarding the classification and preservation of documents,” according to this memo, which states that the investigation comes as a result of a request from the two main members of the Commission for the Senate armed forces, one Republican and the other from the Democratic Opposition.
In the US government, general inspectors are independent. They are especially responsible for detecting and preventing fraud, waste and abuses committed by civil servants. It must also investigate on the violation of the laws, regulations and ethical standards committed by employees.
“Hegseth does a great job,” says Trump
The Atlantic has reproduced in particular screenshots of the Secretary's Defense Messages with the precise hours of the houthi and weapons used, all sent two hours before taking place.
Despite the controversies, President Donald Trump defended his national security team, his government directly attacking The Atlantic journalist. Pete Hegseth “does a great job, had nothing to do with it,” said the Republican leader.
Donald Trump even denounced a “witch hunt” in front of the Democrats demanding Pete Hegseth's resignation, estimating that the life of American soldiers could have been endangered.
No American official will be fired, Vice President JD Vance insisted.
Last week, a federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to “keep” the messages changed between senior American responsibles in a group of the Signal application.
