Defense Department Investigation Finds Defense Secretary Placed Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Signal Chat.
A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.