A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
