A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included 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 Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally 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 statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
