Pentagon Investigation Concludes Defense Secretary Placed Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Messaging App Conversation.
A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
