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 source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
