A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information 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 shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
