A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat 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 do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
