Defense Department Investigation Concludes Defense Secretary Placed Military Personnel in Danger with Signal Conversation.
A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
