A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence 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 against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included 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 participants 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 inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
