Defense Department Investigation Concludes Defense Secretary Put Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Signal Conversation.

A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.

Particulars of the Incident

The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.

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 conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.

Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.

Potential Threat to Troops

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

However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.

Hegseth's Reaction

The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.

In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.