A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
