A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated departmental policies by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group reportedly included Senator 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 Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An unclassified version is expected to be released later this week.
