A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
