A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to 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 formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
