A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered 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 distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
