A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. 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 Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
