Political analysts and observers bashed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday after he claimed an Inspector General report on his conduct during Signalgate exonerated him.
Hegseth's tenure as Defense Secretary has been embroiled in scandal since it began. One of the most egregious scandals occurred in April when Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, was mistakenly added to a group chat on the encrypted messaging platform Signal, where multiple Trump officials discussed a bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The instance became known as Signalgate.
The Inspector General's report found Hegseth likely put American troops in harm's way, and said that the Secretary violated department policies.
Hegseth, however, characterized the report as a "total exoneration."
"No classified information. Total exoneration. Case closed. Houthis bombed into submission. Thank you for your attention to this IG report," Hegseth posted on X.
Political analysts and observers reacted to Hegseth's characterization.
"So, you admit to declassifying highly sensitive information just before an imminent US attack..." Bret Bruen, a former Obama communications official, posted on X. "I know from my experience on the NSC, it is classified to precisely to protect the mission & our military. What possible justification could you have for jeopardizing their lives?"
"A man once accused of sexual assault is quoted tweeting a man once accused of domestic violence. Don’t believe a word either one of them says," Veterans For Responsible Leadership posted on X, referring to Hegseth retweeting his spokesperson, Sean Parnell.
"Info is classified SECRET because it 'reasonably could be expected to cause serious damage to the national security' if disclosed," military veteran Jay Jackson posted on X. "No amount of verbal or legal jujitsu changes the unnecessary risk to servicemembers and mission created by this embarrassing incident."
"The Israeli app you used was exposing unencrypted messages to anyone willing to spend 15 minutes," analyst Jason Paladino posted on X. "Their website was easily exploited to show usernames and passwords and clear text messages. Also it was created by Israeli military intelligence. Massive failure."
No classified information.
Total exoneration.
Case closed.
Houthis bombed into submission.
Thank you for your attention to this IG report. https://t.co/eQPO5iPIRc
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) December 3, 2025