A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
