A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
