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 source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
