A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included 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 actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
