A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question included 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 participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions 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 classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
