Defense Department Investigation Concludes Hegseth Put Troops in Jeopardy with Signal Conversation.
A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
