Defense Department Report Finds Defense Secretary Put Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Signal Chat.
A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
