A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in dispute included details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence circulated by Hegseth was classified and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Response
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the investigation to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
