A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
