A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives 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 distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
