Defense Department Investigation Concludes Hegseth Placed Military Personnel in Danger with Messaging App Conversation.
A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
