A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
