A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator 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 do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
