Pentagon IG says Pete Hegseth could have put pilots at risk

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was at his post for only a few months when his first scandal hit.

For some reason, he was using a messaging app to give updates on a secret military strike that was taking place. We know this because a reporter was “accidentally” added to the thread.

Well, the Inspector General’s report was just released, and Hegseth is back in the news for all the wrong reasons again.

The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was included in the message thread, and thankfully, he never went public with the information until after the mission was completed.

After he reported the threat, the Trump administration and the officials involved in the mishap claimed they did not share any classified information on that thread, but it sure looked classified to me.

This was the first time Hegseth used his “fake news” defense, as well as trying to make it sound as though anyone who did not serve could properly interpret the updates he was giving.

After this all played out, I went on the record saying I would have fired both Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on the spot. Trump, however, stood by both of them, and they both remain with the administration today (Waltz is now serving as the UN ambassador).

Violated Regulations

The Pentagon Inspector General just completed the investigation into the matter and announced that Hegseth’s chat could have jeopardized the lives of the troops involved in the mission.

The report stated, "Using a personal cell phone to conduct official business and send nonpublic DoD information through Signal risks potential compromise of sensitive DoD information, which could cause harm to DoD personnel and mission objectives.”

Now, a lot of people say no harm, no foul, but I don’t look at it that way. I think it was just stupid luck that the op was not blown and we were not sent back a bunch of coffins with flags draped over them.

I have a lot of friends and a nephew currently serving, so I take these breaches very seriously when they could cost the life of someone I care about. This was just sloppy work on all fronts, but nothing ever happened to any of them.

Defending Hegseth

When this story initially broke, I could not help but wonder how government officials in this line of work did not have a specific encrypted device for such conversations, and that was the line of defense taken by Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) to defend Hegseth.

He stated, "It is clear from the reports that the Secretary acted within his authority to communicate the information in question to other cabinet-level officials.

"It is also clear to me that our senior leaders need more tools available to them to communicate classified information in real time and a variety of environments. I think we have some work to do in providing those tools to our national security leaders."

It is also Hegseth’s duty to communicate that information over secure lines. This was akin to strapping the message on the foot of a pigeon and sending it on its way (a bit dramatic, but you get my point).

When our troops’ lives are on the line, we need to be better, and in my opinion, both Waltz and Hegseth dropped the ball here. I don’t think either of them was qualified for these positions when they were appointed, and I hold that same opinion today.