A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
