A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available 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 service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
