A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added 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 conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.