A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
