A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question contained particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
