A highly anticipated Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by sharing classified intelligence in a Signal messaging chat, as stated by a source familiar with the report.
Details of the Incident
The chat group in dispute included details about a planned airstrike in Yemen targeting Houthi fighters. This chat was revealed after a journalist for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat allegedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and then-national security adviser Mike Waltz. The investigation focused solely on the actions of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Pentagon.
Signal is a commercially offered communication application that was not approved for handling sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Forces
The inspector general's report determined that the information circulated by Hegseth was secret and posed a risk to the lives of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the document also noted that Hegseth possessed the authority to downgrade the material he shared, though it was not specified whether he formally exercised that authority.
Hegseth's Response
The informed individual said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the investigators. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his response, Hegseth claimed he only disclosed details that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the mission. He added that he had the right to downgrade information and considered the inspector general to be politically motivated.
Future Actions
The finalized investigation has been shared with Congress. An publicly releasable copy is anticipated to be released in the coming days.
