A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
