A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor 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 communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
