A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted 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.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
