A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
