A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report 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 transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
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 risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
