Defense Department Report Concludes Hegseth Put Troops in Danger with Signal Conversation.

A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.

Details of the Incident

The chat group in question included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.

Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.

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

Potential Risk to Forces

The internal investigation found 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.

However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.

Secretary's Response

The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.

In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.

Next Steps

The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.