A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included 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 report 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 approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
