A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included 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 messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
