A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached departmental policies by sharing classified information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Risk to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
