A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
