A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat 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 investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
