Defense Department Report Concludes Defense Secretary Put Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Messaging App Conversation.
A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
