A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
