A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat 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 hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
