A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
