A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
