A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
