Pentagon Report Finds Hegseth Placed Troops in Danger with Messaging App Chat.
A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted 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 actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
