A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
