A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
