Defense Department Report Concludes Defense Secretary Placed Troops in Jeopardy with Signal Chat.
A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
