A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, 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 submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
