Pentagon watchdog launches probe of Hegseth Signal messages

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. Pentagon inspector general opens investigation into Hegseth, Signal chat scandal

The White House said this week the “case has been closed” on the Signal scandal. The Pentagon’s inspector general opened it back up.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3llwm2eutm22d

Remember when the White House said the case was closed on the Signal chat scandal? The Pentagon's inspector general apparently just opened it back up:

Pete Hegseth's indefensible role in this fiasco is now under investigation.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/pentagon-inspector-general-opens-investigation-hegseth-signal-chat-sca-rcna199588

Soon after, Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and rejected the suggestion that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth needed to resign, but added that it’s “entirely appropriate” for the Pentagon’s inspector general to take a closer look.

As it turns out, officials at the Department of Defense agreed. NBC News reported:

The Pentagon Office of the Inspector General just announced a subject evaluation into allegations that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used an unclassified commercially available messaging app — Signal — to discuss classified information about military actions in Yemen. ... In addition to looking at whether Hegseth complied with rules governing classified information, the inspector general will also look at whether rules about record retention were followed.

.....The final paragraph of Goldberg’s piece read, “All along, members of the Signal group were aware of the need for secrecy and operations security. In his text detailing aspects of the forthcoming attack on Houthi targets, Hegseth wrote to the group — which, at the time, included me — ‘We are currently clean on OPSEC.’”.....

All of this comes against a backdrop of other damaging headlines about the former Fox News personality, including reports this week that he gave an important Pentagon job to his unqualified younger brother and included his wife in meetings in which sensitive information was discussed, despite her lack of a security clearance.

Earlier this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declared, in reference to the “Signalgate” fiasco, that “this case has been closed.” It appears that the Pentagon’s inspector general just opened it back up.