A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The online conversation in question included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not approved for handling classified information.
Potential Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report 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 foreign enemy force.
Notably, the report acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the operation. He added that he possessed the authority to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An unclassified version is anticipated to be released later this week.
