A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret 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 material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.