A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source indicated 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 risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
