Defense Department Report Finds Hegseth Put Troops in Danger with Signal Conversation.
A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed 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 operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
