Pentagon Investigation Concludes Defense Secretary Put Troops in Jeopardy with Signal Conversation.
A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
