A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
