A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator 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 are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
