A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report 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.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual 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 jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
