A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
