A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
