A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group 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 participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
