A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
