A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat 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 possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered 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.