A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
