A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
