A highly anticipated Pentagon review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing classified information in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Incident
The chat group in question included details about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other officials in the chat allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants are not employed at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for transmitting classified information.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report found that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
Notably, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally did so.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or compromised the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be partisan.
Future Actions
The completed report has been provided to lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be made public later this week.
