A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
