A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals 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 do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered 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 made public in the coming days.
