A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly 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 classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
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 obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, 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.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
