A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
