A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included 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 officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
