A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
