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 person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
