A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack 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 chat 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 are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
