A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct 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.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to 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 material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
