A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material 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 later this week.
