A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly 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 are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
