A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
