Defense Department Investigation Concludes Hegseth Placed Troops in Danger with Signal Chat.
A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
