A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
