A highly anticipated Department of Defense report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other officials in the group allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Potential Risk to Forces
The internal investigation found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the information he shared, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The informed individual said that Hegseth declined an interview by the inspector general. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released later this week.
