A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
