A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light 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 then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview 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 considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
