🔗 Share this article Defense Department Investigation Concludes Hegseth Put Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Signal Chat. A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report. Particulars of the Event The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member. Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense. Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material. Potential Risk to Forces The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force. Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so. Secretary's Response The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response. In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated. Future Actions The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.