A highly anticipated Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included particulars about a scheduled air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the safety of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He further stated that he possessed the authority to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be released in the coming days.
