A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
