Pentagon Investigation Concludes Hegseth Put Troops in Danger with Signal Chat.
A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
