A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on 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 handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
