A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included 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 do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
