A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
