Defense Department Report Finds Hegseth Placed Troops in Danger with Signal Chat.
A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
