A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly 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 participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
