Defense Department Investigation Finds Defense Secretary Placed Troops in Jeopardy with Messaging App Chat.
A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols 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 dispute contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat 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 participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
