A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
