A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
