A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
