A long-awaited Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a private Signal group, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question contained details about a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the group reportedly 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 do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he distributed, though it was unclear whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public later this week.
