A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included 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 officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined 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 hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
