A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat 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 participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
