A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
