A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included particulars about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said 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 jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
