A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials 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 conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
