A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question included 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 member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
