The Pentagon launches ‘Signal’ probe into Pete Hegseth after bipartisan call

The Pentagon’s inspector general has unilaterally launched an investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over ‘Signalgate,’ raising concerns over how he has so much power.

“The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business,” Pentagon Inspector General Steven Stebbins wrote in a memo published Thursday.

The announcement prompted an outcry from critics who wondered how it’s possible that the IG possesses so much power.

Explain this to me like I am 10..how does the Pentagon IG have the authority to investigate the Secretary of Defense? Isn’t SOD Hegseth the boss of the Pentagon IG? ‍♀️

— Nikki (@alwaysrushing92) April 3, 2025

The catch is that Stebbins launched the investigation on behalf of BOTH congressional Democrats and Republicans.

Late last month, Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Roger Wicker, a Republican, and ranking member Jack Reed, a Democrat, penned a letter to Stebbins, requesting an investigation into Signalgate.

“On March 11, 2025, Jeffrey Goldberg, the Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic, was reportedly included on a group chat on the commercially available communications application called Signal, which included members of the National Security Council,” they wrote. “This chat was alleged to have included classified information pertaining to sensitive military actions in Yemen.”

“If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know. Accordingly, we ask that you conduct an inquiry into, and provide us with an assessment of [what happened],” they added.

Today, SASC Ranking Member @SenJackReed and @SASCGOP Chairman Roger Wicker sent a letter to the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense regarding their bipartisan concern about the Signal group chat involving senior members of the Trump Administration. pic.twitter.com/lfDPArd8Hd

— Senate Armed Services Committee (@SASCDems) March 27, 2025

Flash forward to Thursday, when Stebbins published a memo announcing the launch of Wicker and Reed’s desired investigation. He began the memo by indicating that he’d received the senators’ letter.

“We are conducting this evaluation [investigation] in response to a March 26, 2025 letter I received from the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, requesting that I conduct an inquiry into recent public reporting on the Secretary of Defense’s use of an unclassified commercially available messaging application to discuss information pertaining to military actions in Yemen in March 2025,” he wrote.

Stebbins reportedly took over as IG after President Donald Trump fired the previous IG upon assuming office. As a result, some have expressed doubt over whether he’s serious about investigating Hegseth.

Def. Dept IG Stebbins was appointed acting IG after Trump fired Robert Storch, who was fired by Trump along with more than a dozen other inspectors general at federal agencies in the first few weeks of Trump administration.

… So this “investigation” will probably go nowhere. https://t.co/r1mSGpfgJl

— Mike (@UmustBkiddingME) April 3, 2025

Meanwhile, Reed responded to the launching of an investigation by releasing a statement, as reported by CBS News.

“The potentially deadly consequences from Secretary Hegseth’s blunder are chilling,” he said. “Whether intended or not, Secretary Hegseth endangered the lives of American servicemembers through his recklessness.”

All this ongoing ruckus centers on what happened last month, when top Trump administration officials, including Hegseth, accidentally invited a so-called “journalist” to join a digital conversation on the secure messaging app Signal about the then-upcoming strike on the Houthis.

The so-called “journalist,” Jeffrey Goldberg, subsequently published a report for The Atlantic falsely claiming that Hegseth had released vital intel in the chat about the exact launch times of U.S. fighter jets, enemy targets, and munitions.

This was then disputed by Hegseth, who called it fake news.

“So, you’re talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again to include the, I don’t know, the hoaxes of Russia, Russia, Russia, or the fine people on both sides hoax, or the suckers and losers hoax,” he told reporters

“So, this is a guy that peddles in garbage. This is what he does,” the defense secretary added. “Nobody was texting war plans. And that’s all I have to say about that. Thank you,”

. @SecDef response to the @TheAtlantic article….

“You’re talking about a deceitful and highly discredited “so-called journalist” pic.twitter.com/pLtcUF4ZtN

— DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) March 24, 2025

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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