A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
