Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed Request Inspector General Probe Into Signal Incident

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) sent a letter to the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense regarding their bipartisan concern and interest about the Signal group chat involving senior members of the Trump Administration.

The full letter can be found here or below.

Mr. Steven A. Stebbins
Acting Inspector General
U.S. Department of Defense – Office of Inspector General
4800 Mark Center Drive
Alexandria, VA 22350-1500

Dear Mr. Stebbins,

On March 11, 2025, Jeffrey Goldberg, the Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was reportedly included on a group chat on the commercially available communications application called Signal, which included members of the National Security Council. This chat was alleged to have included classified information pertaining to sensitive military actions in Yemen. If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know.

Accordingly, we ask that you conduct an inquiry into, and provide us with an assessment of, the following:

1. The facts and circumstances surrounding the above referenced Signal chat incident, including an accounting of what was communicated and any remedial actions taken as a result;

2. Department of Defense (DOD) policies and adherence to policies relating to government officers and employees sharing sensitive and classified information on non-government networks and electronic applications;

3. An assessment of DOD classification and declassification policies and processes and whether these policies and processes were adhered to;

4. How the policies of the White House, Department of Defense, the intelligence community, and other Departments and agencies represented on the National Security Council on this subject differ, if at all;

5. An assessment of whether any individuals transferred classified information, including operational details, from classified systems to unclassified systems, and if so, how;

6. Any recommendations to address potential issues identified.

Please include a classified annex to these responses as needed. The Senate Armed Services Committee will work with you to schedule a briefing immediately upon completion of your review.

Respectfully,