A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
