A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question contained details about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his statement, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
