A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling 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 obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
