A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
