A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized 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.
