A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed 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 did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
