Defense Department Investigation Finds Hegseth Put Troops in Jeopardy with Messaging App Conversation.
A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained 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 actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
