A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation 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 approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
