A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered 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 did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
