Pentagon Report Concludes Defense Secretary Put Military Personnel in Danger with Messaging App Chat.
A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details 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 lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
