A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled air attack 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 group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
