Defense Department Report Concludes Defense Secretary Put Troops in Jeopardy with Signal Chat.
A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation 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 handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed 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 investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
