A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
