Pentagon Report Concludes Hegseth Put Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Messaging App Chat.
A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
