A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated 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 compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
