A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
