An investigation found defense secretary put US forces at risk, triggering fresh demands for his resignation
The Department of Defense’s inspector general released the much-anticipated unclassified report on Thursday about Pete Hegseth’s disclosure of plans for military airstrikes in Yemen in a Signal group chat earlier this year.
It found that Hegseth violated departmental policies when he shared information in the chat, and that if a foreign enemy force intercepted that information it could have endangered the lives of US troops, as the Guardian reported on Wednesday. “Using a personal cell phone to conduct official business and send nonpublic DoD information through Signal risks potential compromise of sensitive DoD information, which could cause harm to DoD personnel and mission objectives,” the report said.
In response, the Democratic congressman Mark Warner, vice-chair of the Senate intelligence committee, called for Hegseth to resign on Wednesday. “Our service members, including those stationed in Virginia and around the world, expect and deserve leaders who honor the sacrifices they make every day to protect our nation and never put them at unnecessary risk. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Pete Hegseth should resign, or the president must remove him at once,” Warner said.
