A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine 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 Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual 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 risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
