Pentagon Report Finds Hegseth Placed Troops in Jeopardy with Messaging App Conversation.
A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
