A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
