A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
