A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation 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 authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
