A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials 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 participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation 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.
