A long-awaited Department of Defense review has concluded that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing secret intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included particulars about a planned air attack in Yemen targeting Houthi militants. This discussion came to light after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a participant.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included Senator JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The report focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other officials do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling classified information.
Serious Threat to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the information shared by Hegseth was classified and posed a risk to the lives of US service members if it had been intercepted by a hostile nation.
However, the report also noted that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the information he shared, though it was not specified whether he actually exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a brief written statement.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only shared information that would not have risked lives or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to declassify material and viewed the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.