Department watchdog also states as Pentagon chief, Hegseth has the authority to declassify information

https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/pentagons-signalgate-review-finds-hegseth-violated-defense-department-regulations-d75b9c0a?st=pa1toA&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Posted by Power-Equality

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  1. **Pentagon’s Signalgate Review Finds Hegseth Violated Defense Department Regulations**

    *Department watchdog also states as Pentagon chief, Hegseth has the authority to declassify information*

    [https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/pentagons-signalgate-review-finds-hegseth-violated-defense-department-regulations-d75b9c0a?st=pa1toA&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink](https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/pentagons-signalgate-review-finds-hegseth-violated-defense-department-regulations-d75b9c0a?st=pa1toA&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink)

    A Pentagon watchdog has found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated some of the department’s regulations when he shared sensitive information from his cellphone on Signal earlier this year, according to Sen. Mark Kelly (D., Ariz).

    However, the Defense Department Inspector General also concluded that as Pentagon chief, Hegseth has the authority to declassify Defense Department information, Kelly said Wednesday after viewing the watchdog report the department sent to Congress. That suggests the defense secretary didn’t break the law.

    “They very clearly stated he should not be using his cellphone and putting…this kind of information on an unclassified system,” Kelly said in an interview about the report’s findings into what has become widely known as Signalgate.

    Sen. Eric Schmitt (R., Mo.) said he had also reviewed the IG report on Wednesday and dismissed it as a “nothing burger.”

    “The arc of the story is that it’s just a never ending stream of efforts to undermine Pete Hegseth, right? The whole controversy,” Schmitt said. “So they didn’t get him in the confirmation process? Make a big deal out of this…So it’s just an ongoing effort. I wouldn’t expect it to end with this, but I think again, the President has faith in Secretary Hegseth. I think he’s doing a great job, and it is what it is.”

    “The Inspector General review is a TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth and proves what we knew all along—no classified information was shared,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a written statement. “This matter is resolved, and the case is closed.”

    The report comes as Hegseth is facing scrutiny over his handling of a Sept. 2 military operation against an alleged drug smuggling boat that killed 11 people, including two people who survived an initial strike on the vessel. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized Hegseth for his role in a second strike.

    The watchdog report states that Hegseth declined to sit for an interview with the inspector general, instead sending a written statement, according to a person with knowledge of the document. In that statement, Hegseth claimed that he intentionally declassified information that wouldn’t pose a threat to servicemembers or the mission, the person said.

    However, the report found that the operational details he shared on Signal would have posed a risk to troops and the mission if it had been intercepted, according to the person and another person briefed on the report.

    An unclassified version of the report will be released on Thursday, one of the people said.

    The Pentagon’s inspector general launched a review of Hegseth’s use of the encrypted messaging app to discuss sensitive military operations in April, after Hegseth shared details related to a U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen on a group Signal chat that included other top national security officials and Jeffrey Goldberg, a journalist from The Atlantic. Hegseth also shared the information, which included sensitive details about the timing of the operation and the assets involved, on another Signal chat that included his wife.

    The evaluation concluded in September but wasn’t sent to lawmakers until Tuesday due in part to the government shutdown.

    Hegseth and Kelly recently clashed over Kelly’s appearance in a video urging troops to disobey unlawful orders. The Pentagon said last month it would investigate allegations of misconduct against Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy captain.

  3. Fear not, MAGAts, Orange Julius will “declare” it’s not so on Trunth Cential (that’s how OJ slurs it, that’s what I’m calling it) and all your problems will magically vanish somehow.

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