A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute 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 member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
