A long-awaited Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary'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 information 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 politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
