A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
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 declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
