🔗 Share this article Defense Department Investigation Finds Hegseth Put Military Personnel in Danger with Signal Conversation. A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report. Particulars of the Event The chat group in dispute included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member. Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on 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 handling sensitive material. Serious Risk to Forces The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force. However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority. Hegseth's Reaction The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response. In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan. Future Actions The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.