🔗 Share this article Defense Department Investigation Concludes Hegseth Put Military Personnel in Jeopardy with Signal Chat. A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report. Details of the Event The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant. Other individuals in the group 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 do not work at the Department of Defense. Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material. Serious Threat to Troops The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation. However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority. Hegseth's Reaction The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement. In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan. Next Steps The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.