A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. 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 unclassified version is expected to be made public in the coming days.
