Pentagon Investigation Concludes Defense Secretary Put Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Signal Chat.

A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.

Details of the Incident

The online conversation in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.

Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.

Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.

Serious Threat to Troops

The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.

However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.

Secretary's Reaction

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

In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.

Next Steps

The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.