MaddowBlog-Hegseth responds to inspector general's findings, flubs the meaning of 'exonerated'

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Trump has a habit of using the word “exonerated” in ways that suggest he doesn’t know what it means. He is not alone.

Hegseth responds to inspector general’s findings, flubs the meaning of ‘exonerated’ - MS NOW

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— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T15:54:22.862Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/hegseth-responds-to-inspector-generals-findings-flubs-the-meaning-of-exonerated

And then things took a turn for the worse on Wednesday, when the Pentagon inspector general’s office released its findings in the investigation into the Signal chat scandal. As MS NOW reported, the results of the investigation made Hegseth look even worse.

According to a source who read the report, which was shared with the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, the acting Inspector General for the Department of Defense found Hegseth ‘violated policy by using a non-approved device,’ contradicting the secretary’s claims that he did nothing wrong.

The source, who was granted anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the report, said the report concluded Hegseth shared classified information, failed to preserve records and put military operations and servicemembers at risk when he communicated in the Signal chat with 19 people.

The MS NOW report went on to cite two sources who said the IG’s findings show Hegseth’s actions clearly put troops “at risk.”

By now, the basic elements of the “Signalgate” controversy are probably familiar: Top members of Donald Trump’s national security team participated in an unsecured group chat to discuss sensitive details of a military operation. They also accidentally included a journalist, The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, in their online conversation......

The president has an unfortunate habit of using the word “exonerated” in ways that suggest he doesn’t know what the word means. Evidently, this confusion has spread to his Cabinet.

This isn’t a close call: The manifestly unqualified Hegseth was already juggling several scandals. Now an investigation from his own department has concluded that he shared classified information, failed to preserve records and put military operations and American service members at risk.

In a normal and healthy political environment, this would be a career killer. That Hegseth isn’t walking out of the Pentagon with his belongings in a cardboard box right now is itself an indictment of the administration and of members of Congress responsible for its oversight.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Hegseth jeopardized the mission. He put US pilots' lives at risk. Then blatantly lied and covered it up.

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