Pentagon Report Concludes Defense Secretary Put Military Personnel in Danger with Messaging App Conversation.
A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
