A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly 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 do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
