A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine 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 transmitting sensitive material.
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 obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, 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 investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
