A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
