Pentagon did not conduct routine investigation on whether Hegseth damaged national security by sharing strike plans on Signal

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listens to remarks during the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations at the State Department in Washington, DC, on December 8. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

The Pentagon did not conduct a routine investigation into the impact of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s disclosure of sensitive military information in a group chat on Signal earlier this year and whether it damaged national security – in part because Hegseth never authorized it, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

A classification review and damage assessment would typically be initiated following any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive defense information, in part, to examine whether sources and methods or ongoing US military and intelligence operations have been compr