A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source 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 endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
