A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
