A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly 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 Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
