A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Threat to Forces
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 acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
