Defense Department Investigation Finds Hegseth Put Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Signal Chat.
A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.