A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
