A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
