A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group 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 officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
