A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
