A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated 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 document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
