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A highly anticipated Pentagon review has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.

Details of the Incident

The chat group in dispute included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.

Other individuals in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.

Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.

Serious Risk to Forces

The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US service members if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.

Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually did so.

Hegseth's Response

The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.

In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He further stated that he possessed the authority to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be partisan.

Next Steps

The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.