Bombshell Reports Reveal Pete Hegseth Appears to Have Shared Classified Intel in Signal Chat

A new report Wednesday from the Washington Post reveals that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared intelligence derived from a classified email labeled “SECRET/NOFORN” in his infamous Signal chat in March.

According to Post reporters Dan Lamothe and John Hudson, the Pentagon’s independent inspector general has evidence that the information Hegseth shared in the chat about a U.S. strike in Yemen came from a classified email. The email was sent to more than a dozen defense officials by Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla — the top commander overseeing U.S. military operations in the Middle East. Hegseth, according to the report, proceeded to share that information in at least two unclassified Signal chats.

“The revelation appears to contradict longstanding claims by the Trump administration that no classified information was divulged in unclassified group chats that critics have called a significant security breach,” Lamothe and Hudson noted.

The email being marked “SECRET” meant that the information contained therein was classified at a level at which unauthorized disclosure could cause serious damage to national security — per the Post’s reporting (which CNN later confirmed).

Multiple Trump administration officials have denied under oath that Hegseth shared any classified intelligence in the chat. At a March 25 Senate Intelligence hearing, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said, “There was no classified material that was shared in that signal chat.

Mike Waltz — who served as National Security Advisor and is now the nominee to become U.S. ambassador to the U.N. — also testified at a Senate Foreign Relations hearing on July 15 that Hegseth did not share classified intelligence.

And despite the new reporting, that remains the position of the Pentagon as well.

“The Department stands behind its previous statements: no classified information was shared via Signal,” Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, told the Washington Post 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.”