A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
