A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist 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 report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
