A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained 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 participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
