A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
