A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly 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 messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared 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 acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
