A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained 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 individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
