A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
