Raja Krishnamoorthi DEMANDS Pete Hegseth’s Resignation Over Leaked War Plans
Exposed: The Pentagon’s ‘Signal Chat Leak’ and the Call for Pete Hegseth’s Resignation
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi has methodically exposed a major national security breach within the Defense Department, centered on an encrypted Signal group chat where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly disclosed highly sensitive military operational details. Krishnamoorthi’s meticulous questioning of Lieutenant General Cruz effectively dismantled the Trump administration’s defense that “no classified information” was involved, leading to a direct call for Hegseth’s immediate resignation.
The Unambiguous Proof of Classification
Krishnamoorthi’s strategy was to use the Pentagon’s own rules against them. He read the actual text of both the Trump administration’s classification policy and the DoD’s manual:
Executive Order 13526, Section 1.48: Information is classified if its unauthorized disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause damage to national security, including “military plans, weapon systems, or operations.”
DoD 5200.01: Information shall be classified if its unauthorized disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause damage to national security, including “military plans, weapon systems, or operations.”
Krishnamoorthi then introduced the actual text of Hegseth’s message, which included:
“Time now, weather is favorable. Just confirmed with SentCom, we are a go for mission launch.”
“At 12:15 Eastern, F-18’s launch first strike package.” (F-18s are weapon systems).
“Target terrorist is at his known location.”
“Also, strike drones launch MQ9s.” (MQ-9s are weapon systems).
By applying the official definitions to the facts, Krishnamoorthi made a “crystal clear” case that the message, which contained specific weapon systems and operational details about a military operation and a sequence of strikes, was undeniably classified information.
The argument that the message was unclassified because the names of the weapon systems are widely known was dismissed. The context—their inclusion in a sequence of operational details concerning a time-sensitive strike—made them classified by the DoD’s own definition.
The Demand for Accountability: A Two-Tiered System
Krishnamoorthi argued that Hegseth’s action represents a dangerous culture of recklessness and a two-tiered system of accountability at the highest levels of government.
The Law is Simple: If a junior officer had done what Hegseth did, they would be immediately stripped of their clearance and prosecuted.
The Cabinet Exception: When a cabinet member—especially the Defense Secretary—does it, the administration attempts to claim it’s “no big deal.”
The Consequence: This sends a devastating signal to allies that U.S. command discipline is “collapsing” and to adversaries that they can “exploit the chaos.”
Krishnamoorthi did not mince words: “Secretary Hegseth has disclosed military plans as well as classified information. He needs to resign immediately.”
He also called for a full investigation into whether other encrypted chats are being used across the administration to bypass official, secure communication channels.
The JTTF Resource Shift: Compromising Homeland Security
Krishnamoorthi quickly pivoted to another topic of concern, addressing Director Patel about a reported shift in resources for the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Chicago.
The Shift: A memo obtained by ABC7 News of Chicago reportedly indicates that the JTTF, which valiantly led efforts to prevent the attack on Naval Station Great Lakes in 2022, will now be “actively supporting” the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement.
The Warning: Krishnamoorthi issued a stern warning that if a terrorist attack occurs in Chicago—or anywhere else—due in part to the JTTF shifting its focus away from counter-terrorism, “they’ll be held to pay.”
This final point reinforced the broader theme of the hearing: an administration that is allegedly compromising core national security functions (protecting against terrorism) by shifting resources to political priorities (immigration enforcement) while simultaneously exposing classified operational details through reckless communication.
