A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
