A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing 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 contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the information shared 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.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be made public later this week.
