A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator 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 officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
