A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information 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 had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
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 statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
