A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group 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 officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
