Defense Department Report Concludes Defense Secretary Put Troops in Jeopardy with Signal Conversation.
A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
