A long-awaited Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
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 are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
