A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
