A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained 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 member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator 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 officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
