A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
