A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
