A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
