A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
