A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included 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 report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, 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 response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
