A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
