A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed 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 report focused solely on 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 approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
