Pentagon Watchdog: Defense Secretary’s Leak May Have Endangered Troops

A Pentagon watchdog has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have put U.S. service members at risk by disclosing sensitive mission details, according to sources familiar with the report. The investigation by the Department of Defense Inspector General focused on a March incident. Secretary Hegseth shared real-time information about an active bombing mission in Yemen within a private Signal group chat. The chat included other senior U.S. officials. However, Hegseth accidentally added a journalist to the conversation, the sources said. The report states that this unauthorized disclosure could have endangered American troops involved in the operation. The findings were first reported by CBS News. The Pentagon has not yet publicly released the inspector general's report or commented on its conclusions.