A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined 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.
Details of the Event
The chat group in question included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This chat was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member.
Other officials in the group allegedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report did not examine the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a publicly available messaging app that was not authorized for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The internal investigation determined that the information 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 report also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he submitted a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth asserted he only disclosed 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 completed report has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public later this week.
