A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols 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 question included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
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 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 approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
