A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions 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 handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted 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 refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
