A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly 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 participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
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 claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
