The Pentagon has added a second chat group where family members were given access to confidential military material as part of its probe into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s usage of the Signal app. This expanded investigation, which focuses on how top-secret Yemen strike details moved from safe government systems to Hegseth’s personal device, raises serious national security concerns.
Deep State Targeting Trump’s Defense Secretary
Acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins, who took over after President Trump cleaned house by firing 18 inspectors general, is leading the investigation into Hegseth’s communications. The probe began after Senate Armed Services Committee leaders requested an inquiry into reports that Hegseth discussed sensitive military operations in Yemen using the encrypted messaging app.
Exclusive: The Pentagon inspector general has expanded an investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s sharing of military plans to a second Signal chat that included his wife and brother https://t.co/Htt62FOdcN
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 1, 2025
The expanded investigation now scrutinizes a second Signal chat group called “Defense | Group Huddle” that reportedly included Hegseth’s wife, brother, personal lawyer, and friends. According to The Wall Street Journal, classified information about military operations was inappropriately shared in these chats, with documents somehow moving from secure government computers to personal devices.
President Trump has stood firmly behind Hegseth despite the controversy that began before his confirmation. The initial investigation focused on a chat called “Houthi PC Small Group.” Still, attention has shifted to how classified information was transferred from secure systems to unclassified devices, which experts note is technically challenging.
Pentagon Inspector General Expands Investigation Into Hegseth’s Use of Signal. Probe seeks to determine who put sensitive military information in unclassified chat group that included Hegseth’s family. This is different from the Signal chat with the reporter. pic.twitter.com/EyrAwO00py
— Fly Sistah 🪷 (@Fly_Sistah) May 1, 2025
Wife’s Presence Raises Additional Concerns
Reports indicate Jennifer Hegseth has been present at high-level meetings with foreign officials, including a Pentagon meeting with the U.K. Secretary of Defense. Her involvement in sensitive conversations and inclusion in Signal chats containing classified information has become a focal point of the expanding investigation.
The Pentagon’s Inspector General’s office confirmed the ongoing evaluation but declined to provide details about the scope or timeline. In a memorandum initiating the investigation, Stebbins stated they would assess compliance with DoD policies on using commercial messaging apps for official business and adherence to classification requirements.
Media Leak Raises Questions About Motives
Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has since been reassigned as Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations, reportedly added The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal chat. This addition allowed a member of the mainstream media access to sensitive discussions about military actions, raising questions about whether this was an intentional leak designed to undermine Hegseth.
“The Pentagon inspector general has expanded an investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s sharing of military plans to a second Signal chat that included his wife and brother, according to a congressional aide and another person familiar with the inquiry.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that classified information was transferred from secure systems despite being “impossible to quickly copy and paste information from a classified system to an unclassified one.” The technical barriers to such transfers suggest either elaborate circumvention of security protocols or potential exaggeration of the sensitivity of the information shared.