A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The online conversation in question contained particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report found that the information circulated by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the material he shared, though it was unclear whether he actually did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the investigation to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
