Pentagon Report Finds Defense Secretary Placed Military Personnel in Danger with Signal Chat.
A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included 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 publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
