A highly anticipated 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 source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
