A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief 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 particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials 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 are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually 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 response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
