A long-awaited Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Troops
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
