Pentagon Report Finds Defense Secretary Placed Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Signal Conversation.
A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly 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 participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
