A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals 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 approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
