A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat 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 officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
