A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
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 disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
