A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth breached official protocols by disclosing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Event
The chat group in dispute contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen against Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a participant.
Other individuals in the group reportedly 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 publicly available messaging app that was not approved for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Threat to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
However, the document acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to downgrade the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The source indicated that Hegseth declined an interview by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have risked lives or compromised the mission. He further stated that he had the right to declassify material and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Next Steps
The finalized investigation has been shared with lawmakers. An publicly releasable copy is expected to be made public in the coming days.
