Pentagon Investigation Finds Hegseth Placed Military Personnel in Danger with Signal Chat.

A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.

Details of the Incident

The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.

Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.

Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.

Potential Threat to Troops

The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.

Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.

Hegseth's Reaction

The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.

In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.

Future Actions

The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.