American Oversight Seeks Release of Pentagon Inspector General’s Report on Secretary Hegseth’s Signal Use
We filed a FOIA request for the DOD watchdog’s review of auto-deleting messaging app use for official business.
Following reports that the Department of Defense (DOD) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed its evaluation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of non-classified, commercial messaging applications with auto-deleting features, including Signal, to conduct official government business, American Oversight today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking release of the OIG’s findings.
“Secretary Hegseth and other top officials put our national security at risk and jeopardized the lives of our brave men and women in uniform when they used Signal to discuss sensitive military operations,” said Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight. “The American people have a right to know what the inspector general uncovered about this reckless misconduct — including whether and how these officials broke the law. The IG’s independent report is a critical part of exposing the truth.”
The DOD OIG initiated its evaluation in April 2025, following revelations that Hegseth had shared information about U.S. military operations in Yemen via Signal. The app’s auto-delete feature has raised serious concerns about the destruction of federal records and the administration’s efforts to circumvent transparency requirements.
Hegseth has, in recent days, taken actions reportedly aimed at undermining whistleblowers at DOD. In a speech to military leaders, Hegseth claimed the IG process has been “weaponized, putting complainers, poor performers, and ideologues in the driver’s seat.” Alarmingly, Hegseth issued a memo directing the Secretaries of the Military Departments to work with the DOD OIG to modify processes, including timelines for investigations and vetting whistleblower complaints.
American Oversight was the first organization to file a lawsuit in the Signalgate matter after The Atlantic revealed that Hegseth and other senior administration officials had used Signal to discuss sensitive military operations. Since then, the watchdog organization’s litigation has prompted a court order to preserve records, spurred the inspector general investigation, and exposed a broader pattern of recordkeeping violations across multiple agencies.