A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
