A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
