A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained 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 actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
