🔗 Share this article Defense Department Investigation Finds Hegseth Put Military Personnel in Danger with Messaging App Conversation. A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report. Particulars of the Event The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant. Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense. Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material. Potential Risk to Troops The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation. However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so. Secretary's Response The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response. In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan. Future Actions The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.