A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
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 officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
