A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
