A long-awaited Pentagon report has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a source familiar with the report.
Particulars of the Event
The chat group in question contained particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the group reportedly 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 participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not authorized for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Forces
The internal investigation determined that the information shared by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a foreign enemy force.
Notably, the document acknowledged that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the information he distributed, though it was not specified whether he formally did so.
Hegseth's Reaction
The informed individual indicated that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only shared details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He further stated 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 publicly releasable copy is expected to be released later this week.
