A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat 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 then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
