A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by sharing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor 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 commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
