A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat 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 participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source 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 shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
