A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
