A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information 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 investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
