A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat 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 officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
