A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
