US defence secretary Pete Hegseth had the consumer messaging app Signal set up on a computer in his office at the Pentagon so that he could send and receive instant messages in a space where personal cellphones are not permitted, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Hegseth’s move facilitated easier communications in a building where cell service is poor and personal phones are not allowed in certain areas. The defence secretary has two computers in his office, one for personal use and one govt-issued. Hegseth had cables installed in early March so that he could connect a private computer to Signal. His confidential assistant and Ricky Buria, junior military aide, had the same Signal capability, the person said.
The latest revelation came after NYT reported Hegseth had shared highly sensitive and detailed attack plans in a Signal chat group that included his wife, his brother and his personal lawyer hours before a mission was launched against Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15.
He had shared essentially the same details in a group chat with top national security officials, also shortly before the strikes. The fact of that conversation became public when The Atlantic reported that its editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, had been inadvertently included in the group chat. Trump administration officials suggested there was no issue with Hegseth’s use of Signal in his office.
“The secretary of defence’s use of communications systems and channels is classified,” said chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. “However, we can confirm the secretary has never used and does not currently use Signal on his govt computer.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “another nonstory,” noting that Signal is an app approved for govt use. Pentagon’s acting inspector general said earlier this month that he would review Hegseth’s Yemen strike disclosures on Signal. Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican who chairs the armed services committee, and the committee’s senior Democrat, senator Jack Reed, requested the review. The senators asked the inspector general to conduct an inquiry into whether Hegseth had shared sensitive or classified information in the group chat. The details about the strikes that Hegseth sent came from US central command through a secure govt system designed for transmitting classified information.
In the past month, Hegseth has also seen the dissolution of his inner circle of close advisers – military veterans who, like him, had little experience running large, complex organisations. Three members of the team were accused of leaking unauthorised information, and escorted from the building.
President Trump and White House officials have stood by Hegseth. But Hegseth also irritated WH officials by booking himself for a Fox News interview Tuesday morning, during which he accused fired advisers of making up stories about him. WH officials have told him they want him to get the fractious situation with his staffing under control.
