Defense Department Report Concludes Defense Secretary Put Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Messaging App Chat.

A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.

Particulars of the Incident

The chat group in dispute contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.

Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.

Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.

Serious Threat to Forces

The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.

However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.

Hegseth's Response

The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.

In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.

Future Actions

The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.