A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
