A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
