A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group 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 are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops 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 distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
