A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group allegedly 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 participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
