Pentagon Report Finds Hegseth Placed Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Messaging App Chat.
A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation 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 added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group 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 officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
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.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.