Defense Department Report Concludes Hegseth Put Troops in Danger with Messaging App Conversation.
A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included 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 are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
