A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group 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 do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
