Defense Department Report Concludes Hegseth Placed Troops in Jeopardy with Messaging App Chat.
A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included 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 are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated 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 information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
