Defense Department Report Finds Hegseth Placed Military Personnel in Danger with Signal Conversation.
A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence 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.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
