US senators from both parties urge formal probe of Signal chat attack plan

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) speaks to members of the press while passing through the Senate subway at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 19, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican and Democrat on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said on Thursday they had asked the Pentagon to investigate the Trump administration's use of the Signal messaging app to discuss sensitive attack plans.

In a letter to Steven Stebbins, the acting Inspector General at the Defense Department, Republican Senator Roger Wicker, the panel's chairman, and Senator Jack Reed, its ranking Democrat, asked for an inquiry and assessment of the facts surrounding the Signal chat and department policies "and adherence to policies" about sharing sensitive information.