A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
