A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
