A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The online conversation in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator 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 participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is expected to be released in the coming days.
