A long-awaited Department of Defense review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute contained details about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he had the right to declassify material and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
