Pentagon Report Finds Hegseth Placed Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Signal Conversation.
A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly 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 Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
