A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
