Retiring Rep. Bacon rejects 'baloney' claims IG report cleared Hegseth

Retiring Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., on Thursday rejected the claim that a recent Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report exonerated Secretary of War Pete Hegseth over his use of Signal to share plans for a strike on Yemen's Houthi faction.

So-called "Signalgate" saw then-National Security Advisor Mike Waltz ultimately step down and move to the post of UN Ambassador. The Signal group chat included top Cabinet officials and Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg, who ultimately broke the story due to his accidental appearance. The OIG report, released this week found that Hegseth violated policy by using Signal, The Hill reported.

During an appearance on CNN, Bacon called the claim that the report exonerated Hegseth "baloney" and indicated he would use harsher terms were he not on the air.

“And if this information got to Yemen, it would have compromised the mission, and we could have put our pilots at risk,” Bacon said.

Bacon is not seeking reelection. He has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration's foreign policy and is generally regarded as one of the most vocal neoconservative hawks in the Republican conference.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.