A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct 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 handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
