A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
