A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, 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 targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included 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 Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
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 details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
