A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator 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 Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for transmitting classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
