Pentagon Investigation Finds Defense Secretary Put Military Personnel in Danger with Signal Chat.
A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly 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 communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
