A highly anticipated Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct 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.
Serious 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 intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
