A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included 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 participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
