A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information 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.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
