A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine 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 approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual 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 information that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
