A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars 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 group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence 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 report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
