Defense Department Report Finds Hegseth Put Troops in Jeopardy with Signal 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.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information shared 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.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed 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 mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
