In March, the American magazine The Atlantic revealed that then-national security adviser Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard, and Vice President JD Vance, among others, had discussed impending airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen on Signal. For unknown reasons, The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg had been invited to the chat group.
On Thursday, a Pentagon report on the incident was released, stating that Hegseth compromised sensitive information when he shared details in the chat via his personal phone.
The independent investigators write that the Minister of Defense had the right to lift the confidentiality of the information he shared, but that using the personal phone "risks revealing sensitive information from the Department of Defense, which could harm the department's personnel and mission objectives."
"This entire situation has been politicized by the media and by those who want to obstruct and sabotage the government by creating a false narrative," Hegseth says in a written comment, which is included in the report.
Mike Waltz, who was responsible for the chat, had to leave his post after the incident. Last fall, he was appointed US ambassador to the UN.
