A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
