A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details 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 completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.