A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
