A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
