🔗 Share this article Pentagon Report Finds Defense Secretary Put Military Personnel in Danger with Signal Conversation. A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings. Details of the Incident The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant. Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense. Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material. Potential Threat to Troops The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force. However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so. Hegseth's Response The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response. In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated. Next Steps The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.