A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group 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 officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. 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 Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
