A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
