Information shared by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the messaging app Signal with senior officials and a journalist came from a classified email marked 'SECRET' and 'NOFORN', the Pentagon's watchdog has been informed. The revelation contradicts the Trump administration's earlier claims that no classified material was disclosed in the incident, which has been dubbed 'Signalgate'.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the email was sent by General Michael Kurilla, head of US Central Command, via the classified SIPRNet system to over a dozen defence officials. Hegseth is accused of sharing details of imminent US military operations in Yemen in a Signal group chat that included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and inadvertently, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. Goldberg was added by mistake by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has since resigned.
The Defense Department inspector general is investigating the matter at the request of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell dismissed the reports, stating: 'The Department stands behind its previous statements: no classified information was shared via Signal.' White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly also defended the administration, calling the reports 'shameful' and 'unverified'.
At a House Armed Services Committee hearing in June, Hegseth declined to answer questions about the source of the information, saying classifications of ongoing operations would not be disclosed in a public forum.
