Defense Department Investigation Finds Hegseth Placed Military Personnel in Danger with Messaging App Chat.

A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.

Details of the Incident

The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.

Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator 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 are not employed at the Pentagon.

Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.

Potential Threat to Forces

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.

Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material 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 provided a short written response.

In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.

Future Actions

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