A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
