A long-awaited Pentagon report has determined that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth violated official protocols by disclosing secret information in a private Signal group, according to a person briefed on the findings.
Details of the Incident
The online conversation in question included particulars about a scheduled airstrike in Yemen against Houthi militants. This discussion was revealed after a reporter for the Atlantic was included as a member.
Other individuals in the chat reportedly included JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and former security advisor Mike Waltz. The investigation did not examine the conduct of Hegseth, as the other participants do not work at the Department of Defense.
Signal is a publicly available communication application that was not authorized for transmitting sensitive material.
Serious Risk to Troops
The inspector general's report determined that the intelligence shared by Hegseth was secret and could have endangered the safety of US troops if it had been obtained by a hostile nation.
However, the report acknowledged that Hegseth had the ability to declassify the material he distributed, though it was unclear whether he formally exercised that authority.
Secretary's Reaction
The source said that Hegseth refused to be interviewed by the inspector general. Instead, he provided a short written response.
In his statement, Hegseth asserted he only shared information that would not have endangered personnel or jeopardized the operation. He further stated that he had the right to downgrade information and viewed the investigation to be partisan.
Next Steps
The completed report has been provided to Congress. An unclassified version is anticipated to be made public in the coming days.
