A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on 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 transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered 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 downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
