Defense Department Report Concludes Hegseth Put Troops in Danger with Messaging App Chat.

A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.

Details of the Incident

The chat group in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.

Other officials 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 do not work at the Pentagon.

Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.

Serious Threat to Forces

The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.

However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.

Hegseth's Response

The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.

In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.

Future Actions

The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.