A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist 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 report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
