A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
