Defense Department Investigation Finds Hegseth Placed Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Signal Conversation.

A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.

Particulars of the Incident

The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.

Other individuals in the group 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 officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.

Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.

Serious Threat to Troops

The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.

Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.

Secretary's Reaction

The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.

In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.

Future Actions

The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.