A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
