A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
